Public procurement and devolution in the UK: exploring the laws of (un)intended consequences

Whilst public procurement is an important devolved competence cross-cutting many policy areas, it has received relatively scant academic attention. Through a mapping of both UK-wide and devolved nations’ laws and policies, this article argues that there are numerous points of convergence and divergence. These must be closely studied in order to properly discern whether an effective balance has been struck between respect for devolution and coherence of the UK procurement system, including a post-Brexit UK internal market for procurement. It draws on a single case study of devolved policy-making, namely, setting thresholds for advertising low value contracts to illustrate not only that there may be considerable divergence but that this may not necessarily be intentional. It is argued that such examples highlight potential trade-offs in developing and implementing devolved procurement policies which are not necessarily understood or accounted for and should be. It concludes by establishing a systematic research agenda. This article is timely given that a new Procurement Act 2023 has decoupled the UK from its EU law foundation, enabling the devolved nations to express their own procurement priorities more decisively.