Procurement in a nutshell – revisiting record keeping and reporting
5th February, 2016
Procurement in a Nutshell has now reached its first year and we will be recapping and celebrating our first anniversary with highlights and updates on some of our favourite and most informative Nutshells.
Last week, we discussed new European case law regarding conflicts of interest, available here.
The decision that no conflict had taken place was in part due to the record keeping of the parties. The Court concluded that claimants must objectively demonstrate that documents had been prepared to give a bidder a real advantage in the procurement process.
As such, we have decided to look back at one of our most popular previous Nutshells on Record Keeping and Reporting.
Over the past year we have advised on Contracting Authorities’ obligations to keep records under Regulation 84 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and some now have standard templates or checklists that can be filled in during the course of procurement.
Not surprisingly, we have also seen losing bidders raising Freedom of Information requests, including requests to see the Regulation 84 reports. In most cases, we expect Contracting Authorities should comply with these requests.
In addition, various procurement cases in 2015 have demonstrated how the courts can look to penalise Contracting Authorities who do not comply with their basic requirements under procurement law and some authorities have been criticised for their failure to record important information.
You can remind yourself of our Nutshell on the subject here.
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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