Procurement in a nutshell – new forms and notices
20th November, 2015
In this Procurement in a Nutshell, we will be looking at the new standard forms issued by the European Commission and the guidance from the Crown Commercial Service on the transitional forms and notices under Public Contract Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations").
The regulations are available in full here.
What’s new?
The Public Procurement Directives (2014/23EU (Concessions), 2014/24EU (Contracts) and 2014/25EU (Utilities)) set out the information to be included on forms and notices used to call for competition and to report the award of publically procured contracts.
On 11 November 2015, the Commission passed a regulation implementing new standard forms which would ensure compliance with the legal requirements of the new directives.
The new standard forms include the following:
- Prior information notice
- Contract notice
- Contract award notice
- Voluntary transparency notice
The forms can be found here.
Why is it important?
Directive 2014/24 sets out the information to be included on forms and notices and these requirements were transposed into the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
The Directives for Concessions and Utilities Contracts have similar requirements and these too are being implemented into UK law (the draft Concessions Contracts Regulations 2016 and the draft Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 have been published by the Cabinet Office).
The new standard forms published by the Commission are designed specifically to ensure compliance with the directives. Contracting Authorities should use the new standard forms once the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has made these available through the e-sender system. In the meantime, Contracting Authorities should continue to follow the current CCS guidance which is available here.
Contracting Authorities are responsible to ensure that their notice contains the requisite information and Contracting Authorities should ensure their procurement processes are compliant and consistent with transitional legislation.
How can I find out more?
If you have any queries on the issues raised or on any aspect of procurement, please contact us via our procurement hotline on 0191 204 4464.
Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.
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