Articles

 
Deep Impact

Philip Hoult 65pxlIt is almost three years to the day that we launched Local Government Lawyer and since then the procurement section has consistently been one of the most well read parts of the site.

But this should have come as no surprise because then, just one month in, the new Remedies Directive was transposed into UK law, bringing with it such major changes as amended procedures for starting legal proceedings, automatic suspensions of the contract award procedure where legal proceedings are brought and the new remedy of declarations of ineffectiveness.

There followed a steady stream of important court rulings for practitioners to get to grips with. Indeed, the number of decided cases is estimated to have risen by 20% between 2009 and 2011. At the same time we have seen a host of Government decisions and initiatives have an impact on the field. The Comprehensive Spending Review in 2010 imposed deep cuts to local authority funding, putting more pressure than ever on procurement teams to secure deals that deliver savings and yet also allow their organisations to maintain their services at as high a level as possible.

The Cabinet Office Minister, Francis Maude, has sought to “bust a few myths” around supplier engagement pre-procurement, urged public sector employees to set up mutuals and demanded that contracting authorities improve the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises to win a share of the contract opportunities on offer.

Together with leading law firm Bevan Brittan, we decided to find out from procurement lawyers and other professionals what impact these developments were having. More than 100 took part in the survey and the results make for fascinating reading.

For example, more than 80% said the procurement rules were an obstacle to the introduction of innovative structures for delivering services, whether through outsourcing, joint ventures, local asset-backed vehicles and the like. There was then a real divergence of opinion about just how difficult this hurdle is to overcome. When it came to legal challenges to procurement processes, meanwhile, more than half of respondents reported that their organisations had seen an increase over the past three years.

This supplement covers these and other findings from the survey and includes articles from Bevan Brittan looking in depth at a number of the key issues raised. We hope you enjoy it.

Philip Hoult, Editor, Local Government Lawyer

 

PDF logoDownload a pdf of Local Government Lawyer and Bevan Brittan’s Procurement Law: Special Report 2012.

 

 

 


Results

 

Over the last three years, how have the resources your organisation allocates to dealing with procurement law issues changed?


 Chart 1 = Resources Allocated

 

How do you expect the resources your organisation will allocate will change over the next three years?


 Chart 2 - Future Resources

Do you engage with suppliers pre-procurement to discuss how your requirements may be met?


Chart 3 - Pre-procurement

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 places a positive duty on authorities to consider how procurement of services may improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the relevant area. Do your tenders already incorporate questions which are designed to do this?


 Chart 4 - Public Services Act

Has your organisation set up a staff mutual?


 Chart 5 - Staff Mutual

Have you awarded any contracts to social enterprises/staff mutuals?

 Chart 6 - Contracts to SMEs

If so, did you conduct a procurement exercise?


Chart 7 - Did you undertake a procurement exercise 

Do you think the procurement rules are a help or a hindrance to the adoption of different models for delivering services?


 Chart 8 - Proc rules and new models

Over the past 3 years has the number of legal challenges to your authority’s procurement processes increased or decreased?


 Chart 9 - Legal challenges

What proportion of challenges do you successfully defend?


 Chart 10 - Successful challenges

What proportion of the challenges you receive end up in proceedings being issued?


Chart 11 - Challenges in legal proceedings 

Over the past 3 years, how many times has your authority had to rewind or abandon a procurement process as a result of a challenge?


 Chart 11 - Challenges in legal proceedings

When sending an award decision notification (standstill letter) what level of scoring information do you provide?


Chart 12 - Scoring

In light of Cabinet Office policy on better access to SMEs, have you reviewed your tender procedures?


 Chart 13 - Changes to SME tenders