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COVID-19 and procurement processes

Procurement is one of those areas where, with some sensible and reasonable adjustments, progress can still be made during the coronavirus pandemic. Lucy Doran explains how.

Following the Covid-19 pandemic and the disruption that this has had on businesses world-wide, contracting authorities are questioning whether to proceed with imminent/live procurements.

The Cabinet Office issued PPN (01/20) which reminds contracting authorities of the flexibility that already exists in the Regulations to respond to an emergency situation. The note is aimed at those who will have to respond to situations created by COVID-19 such as emergency supply of medical equipment. It is not a relaxation of any rules and exemptions will still be strictly interpreted. From the Government's perspective, the procurement rules will apply as usual during this period.

For some, a decision needs to be made as to whether to continue or not with a procurement in the current climate and if the decision is to continue, whether any adjustments to the process need to be made.

A decision to cancel/delay should not be automatic, it is not clear how long we will have to adhere to this new way of working and to wait until a return to  "business as usual" may mean months of delay to much needed projects.

As the Government has stressed, it is important for the health of the economy that procurement procedures and deals progress where they can - procurement is one of those areas where, with some sensible and reasonable adjustments, progress can still be made.

We address some of these areas below:

  • Timetables – Would an extension to the timetable be helpful? Businesses have had to adapt quickly to new ways of working and adding a reasonable extension to a timetable may be helpful in encouraging bidders to engage and ensure that they have the time to prepare a quality bid.
  • Questions/criteria – Procurement documents and evaluation criteria should be reviewed to determine whether any adjustments are required in light of the impact that the COVID-19 outbreak will have on projects and the changed environment that it will be delivered in. An example might include any questions/criteria linked to key delivery milestones. Any adjustments will need to be considered on a case by case basis to ensure that they do not breach of the procurement rules.
  • Financial robustness – A concern will be whether bidders in live procurements still pass the financial thresholds set at SQ, how they address financial robustness going forward and what protections may need to put in place. Contracting authorities should engage with their financial advisors early on to determine whether this is an issue and if so, legal advice may be required as to whether changes can be made in a compliant manner to address those concerns.
  • Bidder engagement – Soft market testing can still take place to generate interest in the project prior to OJEU. Prior Information Notices are an effective tool to warm up the market and advertise information prior to OJEU, consider recording presentations and providing a link in the PIN. Soft market engagement can still take place although carefully record such conversations and ensure that information made available pre-OJEU is made available to all once the OJEU is published.
  • Evaluation Meetings – Evaluation meetings can be conducted via video/tele-conference facilities. It is important that the parties involved follow the same procedures that they would have previously and robust audit trails are maintained of decisions made.
  • Stakeholders – It is common to hold stakeholder engagement events during the procurement process. This process may be easier to manage virtually – bidders can provide online presentations which stakeholders can view at their own convenience and comments can be fed-back via email to the procurement team.
  • Bidder meetings – Meetings can be conducted via video/ tele-conference facilities. Spend time beforehand testing any technology required to ensure those participating in the meetings are familiar with the format and the technology is readily available to bidders. Issue a meeting protocol beforehand so that those participating in meetings are clear on the agenda, who will be required to join the meeting and any house-keeping rules.
  • Contract Signature – Electronic signature should be an acceptable format for the majority of projects. There may be issues with some property documents but a solution can be agreed on a case by case basis and hopefully such restrictions will be temporarily relaxed in due course.

Lucy Doran is a partner at Trowers & Hamlins. She can be contacted on 020 7423 8265 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..