NHS Confederation calls for "significant" increase in contracts threshold

The NHS Confederation has called for a significant increase in the contracts threshold above which organisations are obliged to follow EU procurement rules.

“The current threshold applies to many relatively small contracts, putting them through the same onerous tendering processes as ones worth many millions,” it said in its submission to the EU’s consultation on modernising public procurement law.

The NHS Confederation, which represents NHS organisations in England and Wales, added that the existing EU rules were seen as “inflexible, complex and onerous” by procurement managers and commissioners.

The organisation also highlighted as a key issue the question of which bodies were subject to public procurement rules in light of recent decisions of the European Court on the definition of bodies governed by public law. “This issue is of significant interest taking into account current reforms in the NHS which raise questions on which bodies would be covered by this definition going forward,” it said.

Elisabetta Zanon, director of the NHS Confederation’s European Office, said: “EU procurement rules play an important role in making sure taxpayers’ money is spent wisely and our members are continuously trying to get the best possible deal when procuring or commissioning.

“For many organisations, the current process is considered too bureaucratic and lengthy when it is applied to smaller cost contracts. In the current climate these rules need to be driving savings and innovation, not lumbering organisations with additional cost and paperwork.”