Public Procurement

A note on the property and construction issues associated with the establishment of an academy school under section 482 of the Education Act 1996 and the previous government's Academy Delivery Programme. Note added: Section 482of the Education Act 1996 has been  repealed by the Education Act 2011, Schedule 14 paragraph 16 with effect from 1 February 2012.  Under section 15 of the Academies Act 2010, the 1996-Act Academy agreements will be treated as academy arrangements under the Academies Act 2010 and such Academies may turn into 2010 Act Academies if they so agree.  For information on Academies under the Academies Act 2010, see Practice notes, Academies under the Academies Act 2010: overview , Academies under the Academies Act 2010: property issues, Academies under the Academies Act 2010: an overview of the funding agreement  and Academies under the Academies Act 2010: the commercial transfer agreement.

A practice note on the best value regime, how it has developed and best value considerations in outsourcing.

BSF was a long-term programme for investment in England's secondary schools. In July 2010, the government decided not to progress with individual BSF projects that had not reached financial close. Following the end of the new-build BSF programme, we no longer maintain this note.

A note considering how a public authority can utilise a contract awarded by another public authority. The note considers the three main possibilities: Awarding a call-off contract under a framework agreement. Entering into a separate contract directly with the other public authority's provider. Entering into a contract with the other public authority, who will then subcontract the provision of the services. The note considers the legal issues involved in these three options and also the circumstances when it may be appropriate to use them.

Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provide the European Commission with wide-ranging powers to investigate illegally paid subsidies and to order member state governments to recover subsidies which distort the market in favour of state-aided enterprises. This Practice note considers the types of state aids subject to EU rules; the requirements on the part of governments, local authorities and other public bodies to notify state aids to the Commission for prior approval; the remedies that are available to companies affected by unlawful subsidies; the "block exemption" regulations; and state aid notification procedures, as well as recent reforms of the state aid rules.

A note on common issues to consider when negotiating a construction sub-contract in a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) or public private partnership (PPP) project. The construction sub-contract is the key construction document on a PFI or PPP project, equivalent to the main building contract in a traditional or design and build project.

A note setting out the issues to consider when carrying out an evaluation of tenders for a public contract to ensure that the evaluation process complies with the public procurement regime.

This note is about the effective use of framework agreements in both the private and public sectors.

The Government Construction Strategy, published on 31 May 2011, promised radical changes to construction procurement, cost benchmarking and greater use of standard form contracts in the public sector. The government plans to implement the strategy between 2011 and 2013 and it continues to publish further documents, which follow or dovetail with the strategy. This note refers to that work by, for example, the Innovation and Growth Team (IGT) and Infrastructure UK (IUK).

The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) Public Sector Supplement 2011 is intended to help public sector employers use a JCT building contract to meet the government's fair payment principles, to allow for transparency and freedom of information requests, and to encourage use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) protocols.

A note on the community right to challenge (CRC) introduced under the Localism Act 2011. The note examines the relevant bodies, relevant authorities and relevant services to which the CRC applies. It covers expressions of interest (EOIs), and the process of the procurement exercise that may follow a CRC.

A Practice note outlining the various model contracts published by the Office of Government Commerce, including where they can be accessed and when to use them. Note: in 2010 the OGC was transferred from HM Treasury to the Efficiency and Reform Group within the Cabinet Office where it was confirmed that it ceased to exist as a separate entity in 2012. However, the agreements referred to in this note have not yet been superseded and are still available for use (although they are no longer updated by the government).

A practice note considering the key areas that will need to be considered when the OGC Model ICT Service Agreement is used for a project involving open source software.

A practice note on open source software (OSS) and the legal and practical implications of its use by public authorities.  The note considers: The reasons for using OSS. The government's policy on doing so. The risks inherent in using OSS. Guidance on the public procurement implications.

This note considers the issues a public body may encounter when contracting with or setting up a third sector organisation.

A note on ProCure21, an NHS procurement method for publicly funded capital projects, which was replaced by ProCure21+ from October 2010. The note explains the background to ProCure21, gives an analysis of the New Engineering Contract, second edition (NEC2) Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) and explains the ProCure21 amendments to the ECC. ProCure21 ended on 12 September 2010 and its replacement framework, ProCure21+, commenced on 1 October 2010 (see Blog post, Who, or why, or which, or what, is ProCure21+?). We no longer maintain this note.

This case tracker provides information on and links to all legal updates published by PLC on public procurement decisions by UK Courts, the Court of Justice of the European Union or the European Ombudsman.  The legal updates are organised in tables according to the aspect of public procurement law they relate to.  Tables covering cases on specific areas of public procurement law are included under the following general headings: Procedural issues. Evaluation. Contracts not fully covered by the public procurement regime. Direct award and material changes to contracts. Remedies. Court proceedings. Public law challenges. Transposition.

This note covers the procurement (including outsourcing) of telecommunications and information goods and services by the public sector. The note explains the practical and policy boundaries and regulatory regime for these procurements, examines the use of framework agreements by the public sector, analyses the standard contract documentation developed for the public sector by the Office of Government Commerce and others, and addresses the key contentious issues which arise when the public sector engages with the private sector. NOTE: this practice note is in the process of being rewritten by Richard Bonnar and PLC Public Sector and a revised version will be published during the course of 2013.

On 20 December 2011, the European Commission published the following proposals to modernise the EU public procurement rules: Two proposed directives to replace Directive 2004/17 (Utilities Directive) and Directive 2004/18 (Public Sector Directive). A separate proposed directive on the award of concession contracts. This applies to works and services concessions and also applies in the utilities sector. This practice note sets out the key aspects of the proposed reforms and includes links to all documents published by the European Commission relating to the negotiation of the reforms.

A note introducing the public sector shared services initiative, looking at what services are suitable for a shared delivery approach and the risks and benefits of sharing services.

A note looking at the various project structures that can be used in public sector shared services projects and addressing the issues that are likely to arise when implementing them.

A practice note on sustainable public procurement, including details of the legal framework, tips on how to take account of sustainability issues in the tender process and the background to the sustainability agenda.

A practice note on the mechanisms for making changes to public contracts and the procurement implications arising from making the changes.