Introduction to Public Procurement Rules
"Public procurement involves the legal framework for awarding contracts fairly, transparently, and without discrimination. Learn about EU rules, financial thresholds, exempt contracts, and more."
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Presentation Transcript
What is public procurement in a nutshell? Legal framework setting out the procedures and principles for the award of Public contracts By Contracting Authorities Which exceed financial thresholds And are not otherwise exempt Rules ensure contracts are awarded fairly, transparently, without discrimination, with all bidders being treated equally Page 2 wardhadaway.com
Do the rules originate from the EU and can we change them? Pre-Brexit our rules came directly from EU Directives and were part of our domestic law Post-Brexit still required to keep similar rules due to our EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement and other international treaties, such as the World Trade Organisation The EU derived rules continued to exist, pending the current reform New rules came into effect from 24th February 2025. Page 3 wardhadaway.com
Who must comply with the rules Contracting Authorities includes: Government departments Local authorities Police and fire authorities NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts Certain non-departmental government bodies Page 4 wardhadaway.com
What is a public contract? Contract between a contracting authority and a supplier The authority pays consideration/price In return for goods, services, works or a concession Page 5 wardhadaway.com
What are the financial thresholds To be a public contract, the value must exceed: Goods and services central government bodies - 139,688 Goods and services other authorities - 214,904 Works all authorities - 5,372,609 Concessions - 5,372,609 All figures include VAT These are re-set every two years. The next change will be January 1st 2026 Page 6 wardhadaway.com
What contracts are exempt from the rules? Acquisition of land Some contracts for legal services Loans, contracts relating to issue of shares and some other finance agreements Employment contracts Some organisations owned/managed by contracting authorities, e.g. the wholly-owned subsidiary of a local authority, if it conducts at least 80% of its business for that authority. Page 7 wardhadaway.com
What is a framework Usually where a contracting authority contracts with a number of suppliers Allows the authority to call-off individual contracts in the future Call-offs are easier, since no need to conduct a full competition every time. Suppliers on the framework can compete for those call-off contracts. Suppliers who do not get onto the framework are excluded. A Dynamic Purchasing System ( DPS ) is similar, but suppliers can be added to or removed from the list of suppliers. DPS now being replaced by a new concept the Dynamic Market Page 8 wardhadaway.com
Assuming a public contract, what does the Contracting Authority have to do? Advertise on an official government platform Follow a compliant procedure the competitive procedures are called Open and Competitive Flexible Procedure Contracts can be divided into Lots Pre-selection procedure used for the competitive flexible procedure. Usually covers three basic areas: Basic/core information about the bidder Exclusion grounds Other information about the bidder s ability to deliver the contract, e.g. financial standing, technical ability and experience Page 9 wardhadaway.com
What can a losing bidder do if they feel aggrieved? If a contracting authority breaches the procurement rules, that may give rise to a claim in the high court Often the starting point is the feedback that a losing bidder has to be given (called the Assessment Summary in the new rules) There is a standstill period during which the contract cannot be awarded. This gives losing bidders time to consider their position The courts can grant various remedies, e.g. an order that the competition be re-run, or re-scored, an order that the contact be awarded to the losing bidder, damages or the new contract can be set-aside. Page 10 wardhadaway.com
Thank you Ward Hadaway @WardHadaway wardhadaway.com
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