Constructionline requirements have become less stringent for below-threshold procurements, the Construction and Procurement Delivery (CPD) unit within the Department of Finance (DoF) advised RSUA today. We met with Stewart Heaney, Director of CPD’s Construction Division, and Michael Tennyson, Deputy Director.
RSUA was represented by Kerry Calvert, Paul Crowe and Nicola McKay.
Constructionline update
CPD has amended its requirements in recent months regarding bidders’ use of Constructionline for below-threshold procurements. Bidders are now only required to hold a minimum of Constructionline Bronze membership as a condition of award of contract.
Bidders who do not hold verified Constructionline status during the tender period will be required to complete a financial questionnaire which will be assessed by Constructionline in order to achieve a one-time notation value for that procurement. This process will be required to be repeated for each procurement the supplier wishes to participate in.
As before, if a supplier is registered with Constructionline, they simply submit their Constructionline registration number and the relevant category notational and value they wish to rely on.
Grant-funded project rules
CPD clarified that private organisations (non-public bodies) in receipt of departmental grant funding are not required to adhere to the Procurement Act 2023.
Instead, they are expected to adhere to any specific requirements set out within their Letter of Offer of grant funding, which should be proportionate to the grant value.
This will include the requirement for grant recipients to have appropriate processes in place in order to ensure that value for money is obtained, to be able to demonstrate transparency and to retain records of key decisions for audit purposes.
The extent of the flexibility available to funding bodies (under DAO 05/22) will depend on the nature of the project and the level of grant funding awarded.
Threshold for Land, Design and Build
RSUA has previously highlighted that the Land, Design and Build procurement route commonly used by CPD is not always the most appropriate approach, particularly for projects valued at less than approximately £10 million.
In response, CPD advised that it regularly uses the Traditional procurement route for projects below its threshold (currently under £4.5 million) and will also adopt this approach for higher-value projects where there is a robust justification.
CPD further advised that it is gradually moving towards a two-stage contracting approach, which will increase the threshold for the use of the Land, Design and Build procurement route to between £20 million and £25 million.
Public Procurement Policy Statement
On 6 June 2025, the Northern Ireland Executive published its Public Procurement Policy Statement, outlining a revised strategic framework for public procurement.
While the UK-wide Procurement Act took effect in April 2025, it applies only partly to Northern Ireland, with the Statement aiming to provide more comprehensive direction.
Within the Statement, a review was committed to be completed by 31 December 2025 to identify the most appropriate oversight and governance arrangements.
At our meeting, CPD advised that the recommendations from the completed review of procurement governance are currently with the Minister of Finance and will require approval by the Northern Ireland Executive.
The published interim arrangements will remain in place until that approval is secured.
CPD framework operation
Due to insufficient interest in its framework, CPD has begun tendering a number of projects through the Crown Commercial Service.
The current CPD framework is due for renewal in December 2027, with a Pre-Market Engagement (PME) exercise to be published in due course.
Additional items
Further engagement
If you have any questions or comments about this update, please contact Curtis Large, RSUA Policy and Public Affairs Officer, at curtis@rsua.org.uk
