First published in in UnSplash Those of us who trumpet the benefits of pre-procurement market engagement often get told: “I’d love to, but this tender has to be published tomorrow/next week and there’s no time,” or “we don’t have the staff/resources/expertise to do it properly.” While many public bodies do engage with suppliers on a…

Much has been written about how Covid-19 has transformed our working habits in ways which may become permanent. In 2019, the UK’s Office for National Statistics reported that just over 5% of the workforce worked mainly from home. Aside from key workers and those who have been furloughed or sadly lost their jobs, a new…

After weeks of feeling bemused and then annoyed by the endless media coverage here in the UK of Harry and Meghan’s ‘abdication’ from royal duties, I’ve decided to join in. Aside from being a welcome distraction from Brexit, it occurred to me that there are several implications for procurement theory and practice. I examine these…

I’m in Montreal for the fourth International Public Policy Association Conference. On Friday I’ll present a paper as part of the provocatively named panel Public procurement: Humdrum bureaucratic beast or vital instrument for social change. My paper (draft here) looks at the role of citizen choice in delivering public services, and the ways in which…

This is a blog about public procurement. Although I’ve published a few pieces on Brexit since June 2016, there is no lack of better sites to go to for analysis of that hydra-headed beast. With January drawing to a close and little sign of a happy or even tolerable resolution to this national psychodrama, I…

There’s something incredibly depressing about the recent furore over the contract to print British passports. Perhaps it’s the idea that Britain’s national pride is so fragile that it cannot survive a French-Dutch company winning the contract. Or perhaps it’s the idea that £120 million extra of taxpayers’ money should be spent to ensure a British…

As the fallout from the collapse of major government contractor Carillion became clear on Monday, Cabinet Office minister David Lidington defended the decision to award contracts to the company despite a series of profit warnings and other signs of deep financial problems. Lidington said that the government had continued to award contracts to Carillion because…

Yesterday I taught a module on tender evaluation, part of the residential weekend at King’s College London for the Public Procurement Regulation in the EU postgraduate course. One of the cases we discussed was European Dynamics v European Union Intellectual Property Office (T-556/11) and the appeal by EUIPO, subject of a recent opinion from Advocate…

EU rules have often been portrayed as a barrier to including social considerations in public contracts. Undoubtedly, having rules about competition limits the scope for implementing social policies if these discriminate against non-local suppliers. But outside of such discriminatory policies, the 2014 directives offer a wide range of options to pursue socially responsible public procurement…

Standardisation can sometimes yield considerable gains. In shipping for example, the use of intermodal freight containers in standard sizes allows for the seamless global transfer of goods. In the EU, the use of common product standards and mutual recognition of qualifications have helped the single market to develop, albeit to the detriment of bendy bananas.…

I’m currently working in Ukraine, and have been reading Marina Lewycka’s novels to help pass the long winter evenings. In A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, the narrator’s elderly father marries an awful woman who demands that he buy her several cars, including a Rolls-Royce. It breaks down and sits abandoned in the front…

The initial referendum dust may have settled but it’s still far from clear what shape Britain’s future relationship with the EU will take. Those of us who campaigned on the Remain side have gone through the initial three stages of grief: denial, anger and bargaining (in particular, over how Article 50 should be invoked). All…

The contraction in the UK’s steel industry has led to big job losses this year in Redcar, Scunthorpe and Lanarkshire. Last year saw hundreds of jobs go in South Wales. As part of the Government’s effort to respond,the Crown Commercial Service published a PPN in early November, setting out the policy to be followed by…

On 24 November the Commission adopted three delegated regulations setting out the thresholds for public sector and utilities procurement which will apply under Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU. The new thresholds will take effect on 1st January 2016 for those countries which have already implemented the directives (such as the UK, in relation to the…

Ø Case C-115/14 RegioPost v Stadt Landau, Judgment of 17 November 2015 My last post looked at Advocate-General Mengozzi’s opinion in Case C-115/14 RegioPostv Stadt Landau (now available in English), which took a markedly different approach from Rüffert to the question of whether contracting authorities may insist on the payment of a minimum wage to…

Case C-115/14 RegioPost v Stadt Landau, Opinion of Advocate General Mengozzi I have always found the Rüffert judgment problematic. In it the CJEU held that a German public authority could not enforce the wage rates set under a collective agreement in a contract to build a prison. The case turned upon the interpretation of the…

The European Commission published a communication today entitled ‘Public procurement rules in connection with the current asylum crisis.’ This: • Acknowledges the need for public authorities to act quickly to provide housing, supplies and services to meet the immediate needs of asylum seekers; • Sets out the rules and thresholds applying to works, supplies and…

Measures to promote SME participation or other policy goals should be based on robust evidence of what works in public contracting – not on who shouts the loudest. As public authorities scramble to implement thePublic Contracts Regulations 2015, many questions are being asked about the new rules aimed at improving SME access to contracts. For…

The UK Government has now published the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, as well as its response to the consultation held on the draft legislation in Autumn 2014. This article highlights some of the changes made as a result of the consultation, and some remaining areas of ambiguity in the law. Future articles will look at…