Knowledge Drop for Contracting Authorities Part 4 of 6 mp4

Summary

The 2023 Procurement Act Knowledge Drop Series dives into the updated supplier exclusion regime, emphasizing the protection of public interests. It introduces new grounds for excluding suppliers and individuals, allowing self-cleaning to avoid exclusion. The Act also outlines a debarment list for suppliers and mandates consistent feedback to bidders. Post-award, it requires publishing contract details and performance indicators, enhancing transparency and compliance.

Takeaways

• 🛡️ The Procurement Act 2023 introduces changes to better protect Contracting authorities from risky suppliers, ensuring effective competition, public confidence, and the safeguarding of interests in various sectors.
• 🚫 New grounds for supplier exclusion are established, including misconduct by suppliers or connected individuals, preventing avoidance through subsidiaries or rebranding.
• 🔄 Suppliers can avoid exclusion by demonstrating satisfactory self-cleaning activities, such as improving compliance and training procedures.
• 📋 Exemptions to exclusion rules exist under exceptional circumstances, like overriding public interest or in critical defense and national infrastructure situations.
• 🔍 Procurement and commercial teams can assist in navigating the exclusions process, ensuring fair and consistent application.
• 📝 The Act includes a provision for a debarment list, clearly outlining which suppliers must or may be excluded from procurements.
• 🕵️‍♂️ The procurement review unit will manage the investigation process for the debarment list, ensuring transparency and fairness.
• 🏛️ A new National Security procurement unit is being established to support exclusions and debarments on national security grounds.
• 📰 The debarment list will be published and maintained to assist Contracting authorities in the mandatory and discretionary exclusion stage of their procurements.
• 📋 The Act requires an assessment summary to be provided to each supplier post-tender assessment, including the successful one, to improve feedback consistency.
• ⏱️ There is a change in the standstill period from 10 calendar days to eight working days before entering into a contract with the successful supplier.
• 📝 Post-contract award, a mandatory contract detail notice must be published within 30 days, especially for contracts valued at £5 million or more, including redacted contract documents and key performance indicators.

Q & A

What is the primary aim of the Procurement Act 2023?

The primary aim of the Procurement Act 2023 is to better protect Contracting authorities from suppliers who pose a risk to effective competition, public confidence, reliable delivery of contracts, the protection of the public, the environment, public funds, national security, and the rights of workers.

What are the new grounds introduced by the Procurement Act for excluding suppliers?

The Procurement Act introduces new grounds to support Contracting authorities to exclude suppliers for misconduct by other suppliers and by individuals who are connected with a supplier, meaning suppliers cannot avoid exclusion by bidding in the name of a subsidiary or by dissolving and reforming under a different name.

How can suppliers avoid exclusion from a procurement procedure?

Suppliers can avoid exclusion by demonstrating satisfactory self-cleaning activity, such as taking effective remedial action to prevent further misconduct, for example, by improving compliance and training procedures.

What are the exemptions to the exclusion rules under the Procurement Act?

There are exemptions to the exclusion rules where exceptional circumstances apply, such as where there is an overriding public interest in permitting a supplier to compete or in situations relating to critical defense and national infrastructure matters.

What is the role of the procurement and commercial teams in the exclusions process?

The procurement and commercial teams can assist in navigating the exclusions process, ensuring that the process is consistent, fair, and transparent.

What is the purpose of the debarment list under the Procurement Act?

The debarment list is a new provision under the Procurement Act that sets out which suppliers must and may be excluded from procurements. It is intended to help Contracting authorities navigate the mandatory and discretionary exclusion stage of their procurements.

How will the debarment list be managed and maintained?

The investigation process for adding suppliers to the debarment list will be managed in most cases by the procurement review unit, ensuring consistency, fairness, and transparency. A new National Security procurement unit is also being established to support exclusions and debarments on national security grounds.

What changes are introduced in the award procedures under the Procurement Act?

The Procurement Act requires an assessment summary to be provided to each supplier that has had their tender assessed, along with the successful supplier's assessment summary. It also introduces a mandatory contract award notice signaling the intent to award a contract, and a change in the standstill period from 10 calendar days to eight working days.

What is the new requirement for publishing contract details after it has been entered?

A mandatory contract detail notice has to be published within 30 days in most cases for the majority of contracts awarded with a total value of £5 million or more. Contracting authorities are also required to publish copies of their redacted contract documents and details of three key performance indicators.

What is the role of the procurement review unit in the context of the Procurement Act?

The procurement review unit will manage the investigation process for the debarment list, ensuring consistency, fairness, and transparency in the process of adding and removing suppliers from the list.

What is the significance of key performance indicators in the context of the Procurement Act?

Key performance indicators are important as they are regarded by the Contracting Authority as most material to the performance of the core contractual obligations. They must be published along with the contract details after the contract has been entered.