Definition
Negotiated Procedure
A legacy procedure permitting negotiation with selected suppliers.
The negotiated procedure, formally the competitive procedure with negotiation under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, let a buyer invite initial tenders and then negotiate their content with bidders before final tenders were submitted. Under the Procurement Act 2023 it has no separate identity, having been merged into the flexible procurement approach.
How negotiation with bidders worked
After a selection stage, shortlisted suppliers submitted an initial tender responding to the buyer's requirements. The buyer could then negotiate with one or more of them to improve the content of tenders — refining price, technical approach, risk allocation or contract terms — before inviting final tenders.
Use of this procedure under PCR 2015 was restricted to specific circumstances, such as where the requirement could not be met without adaptation of readily available solutions, involved design or innovative solutions, or where an open or restricted procedure had already failed to attract suitable tenders.
- Formal name under PCR 2015: competitive procedure with negotiation
- Only usable where specific conditions in the regulations were met
- Negotiation could cover price, technical solution and contract terms
- Concluded with final tenders evaluated against published criteria
Life under the Procurement Act 2023
The Act does not carry forward a separately conditioned negotiated procedure. A buyer that wants to negotiate with bidders now builds negotiation rounds into a competitive flexible procedure, without needing to satisfy the old, narrowly defined trigger conditions that applied under PCR 2015.
This gives buyers more freedom to negotiate on ordinary as well as complex requirements, but suppliers should not assume negotiation is available by default — it only happens if the buyer has designed it into that specific competition.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the negotiated procedure still available under the Procurement Act 2023?
- Not as a distinct named procedure. Buyers running procurements under the Procurement Act 2023 from February 2025 achieve the same outcome by designing negotiation stages into the competitive flexible procedure, rather than relying on the old competitive procedure with negotiation.
- When could buyers use the negotiated procedure under PCR 2015?
- Only in defined circumstances: where needs could not be met without adapting existing solutions, where the contract involved design or innovation, where the requirement could not be defined precisely enough for an open or restricted procedure, or after a prior procedure had received only irregular or unacceptable tenders.
- What should suppliers expect if negotiation is part of a tender process?
- Expect at least one round of initial tenders followed by discussions where the buyer may ask for changes to price, delivery approach or terms before a final tender is invited. Keep clear records of what is agreed at each round, since the final evaluated tender must reflect those negotiated changes accurately.
Related terms