OGC advises public sector on remedies changes and mitigating risk

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) last week published guidance on the regulations implementing the new Remedies Directive.

The guidance describes the changes brought about by the new regime and provides public sector organisations with advice on ways to mitigate the risks.

Key measures in the amending regulations include the introduction of a new penalty of ineffectiveness, which will allow the courts to prospectively strike down contracts that have been awarded in serious breach of the procurement rules, such as a breach of OJEU advertising obligations. There are two other new penalties as well – civil financial penalties and contract shortening.

The regulations, which affect all public procurements commenced on or after 20 December 2009, also provide for the automatic suspension of a contract award procedure whenever legal proceedings are started in respect of a contract award decision.

There are some procedural changes to the requirements of the ‘standstill’ period. These include:

• The reasons for the award decision must now be released automatically to tenderers and candidates at the start of standstill, rather than upon request
• The duration of the standstill period must now taken into account different means of communication, allowing more time for slower means
• A precise statement of the standstill period should be included within the standstill notice
• The standstill period must now end on a working day.

For more information, visit here.