An investigation into £500,000 worth of payments made by Essex County Council for social media campaigns has been unable to find what the selection process was like for awarding the work or whether there was a competitive process involved.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) did not act improperly when it exclude a non-compliant bid from a tender process, the Technology and Construction Court has found.
The Cabinet Office has published a first batch of guidance documents aimed at providing technical guidance on the Procurement Act 2023 and helping with interpretation and understanding of the new regime.
The Cabinet Office has issued a procurement policy note on improving transparency of AI use in procurement, setting out how to manage risks and opportunities associated with such systems.
The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court ruling that an error in the award of an NHS orthodontic contract was not sufficiently serious to entitle the claimant to Francovich damages.
The Public Accounts Committee has called on the Cabinet Office to set out clear directions and guidance for contracting authorities on publishing data on prospective and awarded contracts amid "significant issues" with the quality and completeness of published data.
The Court of Appeal is this week (29 November) hearing an appeal against a High Court ruling that an error in the award of an NHS orthodontic contract was not sufficiently serious to entitle it to Francovich damages.
Melanie Pears and Tim Care analyse the new obligations on contracting authorities in relation to the Teckal & Hamburg Exemption, drawing attention to any key changes from previous procurement legislation which contracting authorities ought to be aware of.
Allan Owen and Clarice Harper-Smith consider a variety of methods and options available to public sector contracting authorities and the wider construction industry to avoid issues of late payment in construction contracts.
Louis Sebastian and Rebecca Rees look at the Government’s plans to relax s17 of the Local Government Act 1988, which prohibits consideration of a wide range of "non-commercial matters" in procurement processes.
In this webinar, DWF's public procurement experts delivered a practical guide on how contracting authorities can vary a public contract in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
Condition precedents are common in various commercial agreements. Ewan Anthony and David Owens discuss the court’s general approach to considering contractual condition precedents, and whether, particularly after the recent case of Lancashire Schools SPC Phase 2 Limited v Lendlease Construction (Europe) Limited and Others [2024] EWHC 37 (TCC), the court may be prepared to disregard them.
Melanie Pears and Tim Care analyse the new obligations on contracting authorities in relation to 'Transparency', drawing attention to any key changes from previous procurement legislation which contracting authorities ought to be aware of.
The Cabinet Office has issued a procurement policy note on updates to Cyber Essentials, the Government backed scheme designed to help businesses protect themselves against a range of the most common cyber attacks and to demonstrate their commitment to cyber security.
A High Court judge has dismissed an appeal brought by sub-contractors of Camelot over the lottery operator’s loss of a contract, cementing an earlier decision that found the sub-contractors did not have the standing to bring the procurement challenge.
The Government Commercial Function and Government Legal Department have unveiled three standard contracts for use by Government Departments, “and many other public sector organisations”, as part of their commercial activity.
Law firm Mills & Reeve has bolstered its Regulatory Public and Commercial Disputes (RPCD) team in the Midlands with the hire of contentious procurement specialist Claire Crawford.
The Court of Appeal has ruled on the correct use of a respondent’s notice in a dispute over the award of an NHS contract for orthodontic services in East Hampshire.
The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) has published a guide for contracting authorities preparing for a PFI Expiry Health Check (EHC) undertaken by the Authority.
The Cabinet Office has launched the second part of its technical consultation on the secondary legislation required to implement the new public procurement regime established by the Procurement Bill.
A bailiff firm has failed in a High Court challenge to Breckland Council’s appointment of a rival to a contract on behalf of Anglia Revenues Partnership.
The Welsh Government has set out the commencement arrangements for The Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023, which received Royal Assent last month.
The Court of Appeal has overturned a costs cap imposed by the Competition Appeal Tribunal in a long-running dispute between Durham County Council and a waste management firm named The Durham Company, which trades as Max Recycle.
The Cabinet Office has launched a consultation on the secondary legislation required to implement the new public procurement regime established by the Procurement Bill.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal has dismissed Leeds City Council's pursuit of an order for security for costs in a case brought by an advertising firm which claims its alleged exclusion from participating in the market for environmentally friendly roadside advertising space cost it more than £1m in lost profits.
A combined authority has conceded procurement proceedings over a £300m helicopters contract and agreed to pay the claimant's costs in a dispute over its decision to refuse a late tender response.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has handed out fines totalling nearly £60m after concluding that ten construction firms had colluded on prices through illegal cartel agreements when submitting bids in competitive tenders for public and private sector contracts.
The Secretary of State for Justice (SoSJ) has successfully applied to the High Court for the lifting of the automatic suspension in a procurement challenge to the outcome of a mini-competition for a call-off contract relating to the provision of digital and audiovisual ('AV') equipment for use by HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
Panic over an imminent deadline - and not a software fault in a tender platform - was the cause of a company missing its chance to bid for NHS contracts worth millions of pounds, the Technology and Construction Court has found.
The Cabinet Office has issued guidance setting out how UK Government departments must take action to ensure modern slavery risks are identified and managed in government supply chains.
The auditors behind a probe into the behaviour of a former council leader and the procurement of a contract with his physiotherapist’s firm have expressed the hope that their report will "encourage the ongoing debate around the effectiveness of the standards regime for local government and support mechanisms for both officers and members facing the same intractable difficulties".
The Government is facing a judicial review challenge from the Good Law Project over a three-year delay in publishing the details of ventilator contracts worth £247m.
A High Court judge has lifted the automatic suspension of a £400m framework agreement being let by 21 London boroughs and other public bodies relating to the provision of community equipment services.
A claimant has been granted permission to appeal a High Court ruling that an error in the award of an NHS orthodontic contract was not sufficiently serious to entitle it to Francovich damages.
Grant Thornton has published a report on local government procurement and contract management, which outlines lessons learnt from a review of recent auditor reports, and makes recommendations on a selection of issues.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned that the Procurement Bill, which is currently at the report stage in the House of Lords, would "significantly limit” public bodies from using the current vertical and horizontal procurement exemptions, which enable councils and public sector bodies to enter into collaborative arrangements to run efficient public services.
The Welsh Government, in preparation for the UK Government’s Procurement Bill and the Welsh Government’s Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill, has developed a pre-implementation checklist to help contracting authorities in Wales prepare for the new rules.
The Cabinet Office has issued an updated version of The Consultancy Playbook and launched a supporting guidance note on the transfer of knowledge and skills.
Westminster City Council has made a fair tax pledge and called on the Government to tighten UK procurement law as part of a new campaign that it described as a "war on dirty money".
Two judgments published in 2023 set out valuable lessons for those interested in bidding for public procurement opportunities when thinking about whether to participate as a sub-contractor and how to structure bids involving multiple parties, writes Kyle Duggan.
A recent High Court case highlights the importance of correct application of limitation periods under Regulation 93 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, writes John Houlden.
Michael Comba and Shyann Sheehy examine key case law relating to the NEC suite of contracts, building on the topics explored by their colleagues in this series previously.
Now that the Procurement Act 2023 has received royal assent and the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 have been laid before parliament, Emma Watt, Steven Brunning and Amy Callahan-Page summarise the key changes affecting how adult social care services and health services will be commissioned and procured.
As a starting point for navigating the new procurement regime, Juli Lau identifies some key themes which are particularly relevant to public authorities.
On 21 October 2023 the Government published its long awaited response to the Consultation on implementation of mandatory electronic waste tracking. Sally Stock and Natasha Barlow set out the key points.
A High Court judge earlier this month lifted an automatic suspension that was preventing the Home Office from entering into contracts worth more than £750m for visa and citizenship application services. Ed Williams and Nico Tilche look at the lessons to be learned.
The National Audit Office (NAO) published a report on 19 July 2023, on the lessons learned in procurement and competition and provides key insights into public sector best practices, the government’s understanding and oversight of competition and maximising the benefit of competition throughout the commercial lifecycle. Juli Lau and Zena Stephenson take a glance at the NAO’s consolidated key…
Andrew Millross sets out some important considerations for contracting authorities after the Government published guidance on using the Sourcing Playbook in conjunction with framework agreements.
The High Court recently dismissed a procurement claim over the award of the licence to run the National Lottery. James Neill and Barney McCay explain why.
On 17 July 2023, the Cabinet Office published the second instalment of the consultation on the draft regulations required to implement the new public procurement regime established by the Procurement Bill (the ‘Bill’). Nicola Sumner and Shyann Sheehy review the proposals.