Procurement Act 2023 (Specified International Agreements and Saving Provision) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

Considered in Grand Committee

Moved by

That the Grand Committee do consider the Procurement Act 2023 (Specified International Agreements and Saving Provision) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.

My Lords, I am going to speak slightly slowly so that my officials have time to swap out, because they are two different teams. The purpose of this statutory instrument is to implement the procurement chapter of the UK-India comprehensive economic and trade agreement, CETA, via an amendment to the Procurement Act 2023. The UK-India CETA was signed on 24 July 2025 and is one of the most significant bilateral trade agreements that the UK has completed since leaving the European Union.

India is one of the economic heavyweights of the 21st century. It has the highest growth rate in the G20 and is likely to become the third-largest economy in the world by 2029, but India’s markets are also behind some of the highest barriers in the world. The deal that we have secured goes well beyond India’s offering to other countries, opening the door for UK businesses on an unprecedented basis, especially in respect of government procurement. Some noble Lords present may have attended the Lords debate on the UK-India trade agreement last week, when a variety of policy issues pertaining to the agreement were discussed. Today’s debate is focused solely on the procurement chapter of the agreement.

India spends an estimated 20% of its GDP, or £500 billion, on public procurement. Given that India’s nominal GDP was estimated to be £2.74 trillion in 2022 and is projected to reach £7.06 trillion by 2035, this is a phenomenal opportunity for UK suppliers. The procurement chapter unlocks unprecedented access to India’s federal procurement market, covering £38 billion-worth of contracts a year in such sectors as advanced manufacturing, healthcare, construction and infrastructure, and clean energy. For the first time, UK companies will be able to access India’s procurement portal. British businesses will have access to India’s covered entities in respect of procurements above £478,000 for goods and services and £5.3 million for construction services.

The procurement chapter of this agreement can take effect only once the agreement has been implemented in domestic legislation. The statutory instrument will achieve that by updating Schedule 9 to the Procurement Act 2023 to implement in domestic law the UK’s procurement obligations in this agreement. By adding this agreement to Schedule 9, suppliers entitled to benefit from it will be considered “treaty state suppliers” under Section 89 of the Act. This will provide them with equal access and rights in UK public procurement as is afforded to UK suppliers. In turn, the agreement requires India to provide comparable access to UK suppliers.

The Procurement Act 2023 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2024 are also being amended to ensure the UK’s obligations under the agreement apply in relation to contracts that can still be entered into under the previous procurement regime. The territorial extent of this instrument is the UK. The territorial application of this instrument in relation to contracts under the Procurement Act 2023 extends to England and Northern Ireland.

It also extends to Scotland and Wales but not in respect of procurement carried out by a devolved Scottish authority or regulated by Welsh Ministers. The Welsh Government are therefore making a separate statutory instrument to implement this agreement in respect of procurements regulated by Welsh Ministers. This SI was laid in the Senedd on 10 February, is scheduled for debate in plenary on 10 March and is due to enter into force on 31 March—the day after this SI comes into force.

The Scottish Government are implementing this agreement separately under their own legislation in respect of procurement carried out by a devolved Scottish authority. The Scottish statutory instrument—SSI—was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 7 January and considered by the Economy and Fair Work Committee on 4 February. The Scottish Parliament approved the SSI on 18 February and, following that, it was signed and made on 19 February. It will enter into force on 24 March. Finally, the territorial application of this instrument in relation to contracts under the previous procurement regime extends to England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

For these reasons, I hope that noble Lords will support these important regulations. I beg to move.

My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing these regulations and for clearly setting out their purpose. As she explained, these regulations amend the Procurement Act 2023 to add the UK-India comprehensive economic and trade agreement to the list of specified international agreements in the Act. In doing so, they give effect in domestic law to the procurement provisions contained in that agreement. Under the World Trade Organization’s agreement on government procurement, the United Kingdom is required to ensure that countries with which we have concluded relevant trade agreements are given non-discriminatory access to public procurement markets. These regulations are therefore a technical but necessary step to ensure that the United Kingdom meets those obligations.

While we support the regulations, it is worth briefly reflecting on the wider context in which they sit. The UK-India agreement was long anticipated and presents significant potential opportunities for trade between our two countries. However, we have concerns about some of the provisions in the agreement and about what was not included.

The inclusion of services in any agreement with India was widely regarded as a central objective of the United Kingdom’s negotiating position. It is therefore disappointing that a number of key services sectors, including the legal sector, appear not to have secured the level of market access that had been hoped for. Given the strength of the UK services economy, that omission represents a missed opportunity. Similar concerns were raised during the debate in the other place, where it was noted that securing stronger outcomes for services had been a central priority during earlier negotiations.

Concerns have also been raised regarding the operation of the double contributions convention within the agreement, which may mean that companies employing Indian workers in the United Kingdom are not required to pay employer national insurance contributions on their salaries. Although labour mobility provisions are a common feature of modern trade agreements, it would be helpful if the Minister could clarify how the Government intend to ensure that these arrangements operate fairly and do not inadvertently disadvantage British workers.

My Lords, this has been part 2 of the “Finn and Anderson show” today. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Finn, for the points she raised. I was a little disappointed that she did not manage to get in a reference to those celebrating this deal—not least the people of Scotland, who are delighted about access to the Indian whisky market; it has been life-changing for that sector.

I will respond to some of the specific questions the noble Baroness asked me. I will reflect on Hansard after the debate, and I am sure she will pick me up on anything I miss.

On the double contributions convention, the UK Government already have similar agreements in place covering Chile, Japan, South Korea, the 27 EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Barbados, Canada, Israel, Jamaica, Mauritius, the Philippines, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Turkey and the USA. We know how to do these agreements and we are effective at them. The noble Baroness will be aware that the previous Government also operated within this space. There is little to be concerned about.

The noble Baroness is absolutely right that our focus should be on how we support businesses so that they can access the benefits of this procurement chapter. It is vital that we ensure that British businesses can utilise the benefits of this chapter if we are to reap the economic rewards of this unprecedented access to India’s market. The Department for Business and Trade has a significant presence in India, with one of the biggest in-country overseas teams in the world, behind only the US and China. This consists of sectoral experts who work directly with UK companies to help them enter, grow and expand into the Indian market. Alongside this, the team has staff focusing on trade policy, market access, investment promotion, and marketing and communications, under the leadership of HM trade commissioner for South Asia. The DBT works in partnership with Foreign Office teams in India, who also have objectives to support UK economic growth.

Motion agreed.