HEPA Digest: September 2025

Welcome to the September HEPA Digest, summarising the latest developments in the world of Higher Education procurement, and the exciting events that we have lined up for September and beyond.

Non Contracting Authority Group

We are pleased to invite Head’s of Procurement from universities which are not contacting authorities to join a group which will facilitate discussions focused on the benefits and challenges that are faced by those with such a status. The objective of the group is to share best practice, as well as to facilitate networking amongst members.

The first meeting of the group will take place on Tuesday 23 September 2025 from 13:30 to 15:00 via Teams. Head’s of Procurement from non contracting authorities can book their place on the HEPA website here.

Potential topics for discussion include:

• How to handle feedback and scoring
• Best and Final offer management
• NDAs for participation in tenders
• Balancing FOI requests and pipeline/expenditure transparency
• Contracts Finder
• Grant Funding

The group will prioritise topics for discussion at each meeting, considering the problem statement, potential solutions and likelihood of adoption.

Responsible Procurement Group (RPG)

• Today is the last chance to register for the in-person RPG workshop in Edinburgh, taking place on 17 September 2025. You can find out more about the event on the HEPA website here, and register your place here. Sessions will include:
  • Calculating carbon emissions from Procurement, where we will dive into tools including: the Higher Education Supply Chain Emission Tool (HESCET), APUC Scope 3 report, CO2Analysis, the NetPositive Futures Zero Carbon Supplier Tool, etc.
  • Tracking and monitoring progress using supplier assurance tools, which will examine tools including: the Hunter SCM1 (new version), the NetPositive Futures Supplier Engagement HE Tool, and Ecovadis
  • Big picture approaches, where we will hear from NHS England about their Supplier Roadmap and of the approach being developed by the University of Edinburgh for the FHE sector.
• The Circular Economy and Waste RPG Subgroup has two online meetings in the diary which are open to members with an interest in the topics under discussion:
  • Including accurate carbon cost for items at point of purchase (for end users), taking place on 1 October 2025 from 10:00 to 11:30; please contact Rica Macdonald, Head of Responsible Procurement APUC, to receive the calendar invitation.
  • Developing a reuse hub for items from student accommodation, taking place on 3 December 2025 from 10:00 to 11.30; please contact Sion Pickering, Sustainable Business & Fair Trade Programme Manager, University of Edinburgh, to receive the calendar invitation.

A reminder that you can read the latest update from the RPG which includes an overview of the group, details of completed and ongoing activity and resources, and information on how you can get involved in the sub-groups of specific responsible procurement areas on the HEPA website here.

HEPA Head of Procurement Group: £100m to £200m

We are delighted that Emma Keenan, Head of Procurement at SOAS, University of London, is the new Chair of the £100m to £200m turnover Head of Procurement group. The next meeting of the group will take place on Monday 15 September 2025 at 14:00 via Teams. You can sign up to attend on the HEPA website here.

A reminder that you can find the turnover of your HEP on the HESA website by searching ‘HE provider’ and referencing the ‘Total income’ field. Please do feel free to suggest any item(s) that you would like to include on the agenda!

Economic Crime & Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA)

The Failure to Prevent Fraud offence came into effect from the 1 September 2025. Following on from this, our ECCTA - Failure to Prevent Fraud e-learning module is now live. The module is suitable for anyone who wants to understand the:

• background to the new Failure to Prevent Fraud offence and how it relates to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023;
• types of fraud relevant to the Failure to Prevent Fraud offence;
• legislation and applicability of the offence;
• implications for HEPs and what action can be taken to address the legislative requirements.

You and your team can access the module on our eLearning page.

A reminder that you can also read our brief summary of ECCTA on the BUFDG website here, and re-watch the webinar that we held with Cifas on the topic here.

Transforming Public Procurement: Open Consultation - growing British industry, jobs and skills

A reminder that today is the final day of the public procurement consultation focused on growing British industry, jobs and skills. You can view the consultation on gov.uk here, and respond to the questions via the survey here.

Transforming Public Procurement: Communities of Practice

Booking is now open for three in-person Communities of Practice sessions at Procurement Act Live 2025. The sessions are being held at Excel London on Tuesday 14 October 2025, and will cover:

• Preliminary Market Engagement
• Competitive Flexible
• Contract Management

A reminder that you can also view the full Transforming Public Procurement Communities of Practice Meet Up schedule on Eventbrite here.

Time to Talk: Strategy & Efficiency Gains - Transforming Recruitment at Southampton

We are running what promises to be an insightful webinar featuring a story from the University of Southampton about how they have achieved significant financial savings and operational efficiencies through a managed service approach for their recruitment and agency staffing needs, alongside Tate recruitment.

In this session, speakers from the university's professional services teams will share their journey and the innovative approaches they adopted. Attendees will gain valuable insights into a new strategic approach to cost-efficient talent acquisition and non-academic workforce management. This webinar will focus on the intersection of finance technology, HR, procurement, and strategic planning. Learn how to revolutionise the predictability of your recruitment need and drive financial efficiency for your organisation.

The event takes place on Tuesday 14 October 2025 from 10:00 - 11:00,and you can book your free place here.

Round-up

• Jisc are excited to invite members to subscribe to a new monthly digital update from the Jisc Procurement and Supplier Management team, designed specifically for procurement professionals across the sector. You can find out more here, and sign up via Jisc here.
• UKUPC have produced a really useful fraud alert for suppliers, which you can download here to share with your supply chain. The alert outlines details of a known fraud impacting suppliers to the sector, and offers some great tips to assist in identifying fraudulent emails and purchase orders.
• Finally, you can find out more about recent organisational information developments on the Central Digital Platform (CDP) on the HEPA discussion board here. Do you also have any insights into procurement of pension services, use of AI tools for tender writing / evaluation, or graduation gown hire / photography? Do join the discussion on the boards if so!

As ever, if you have any questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to drop me a line – it is always great to hear from members.