Law firm Hugh James has hired Liz Fletcher, a specialist in procurement, commercial and technology contract matters, as a partner in its commercial team.
The Government has published its long-awaited National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) which sets out eight actions contracting authorities should take “to return public procurement back into the service of the country and working people”.
Cardiff Capital Region has conceded liability, causation and sufficiently serious breach in a procurement challenge to the award of a £40 million contract for the demolition of Aberthaw Power Station.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has published an AI Playbook, setting out ten principles civil servants should uphold when using AI.
Guildford Borough Council senior officers missed 13 "key red flags" that should have notified them of significant risks associated with a housing maintenance contractor, an independent report has found.
The High Court has agreed an application from NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board to lift the automatic suspension imposed when a dispute began over a contract award.
Bristol City Council has been forced to rethink a plan to buy energy from community groups after advice that this might fall foul of public procurement rules.
Law firm Capsticks has hired Tim Dennis, a specialist in commercial disputes including those involving public procurement related issues, as a partner in its Leeds office.
The Technology and Construction Court has refused to end proceedings in a procurement dispute concerning social landlord Orbit Group, which it has said must make some requested disclosures to claimant Robert Heath Heating (RHH).
Alex Madden, Head of Planning and Environmental and a member of the Rail team at Hugh James, looks at the key considerations affecting local authorities involved in rail modernisation projects, such as the Western Gateway Rail Deal.
Charlotte Smith explores a recent report from a spending watchdog on the issues faced when procuring technology suppliers and how the government is tackling them.
Sally Stock, Beth Edwards and Shyann Sheehy discuss the process of abandoning a procurement process, as well as highlighting restrictions on when it can be done.
Andrew Millross looks at what might happen where there is a possible misalignment between the words of the Procurement Act 2023 and government guidance.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched a consultation on proposed measures that would legally require public bodies procuring goods and services for the NHS to work with suppliers to both identify and mitigate risks of modern slavery.
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has withdrawn the award of a contract to provide electronic patient records after a losing bidder initiated legal action.
The UK Government should form a national taskforce for procurement of AI in local government to bring together diverse perspectives and redesign the procurement landscape for AI in the public interest, the Ada Lovelace Institute has said.
Local government does not have access to a clear, comprehensive or consistent account of how to procure AI in the public interest, an independent research institute has warned.
The Cabinet Office has said the commencement of the Procurement Act 2023 will be delayed by four months from the original go-live date of October 2024 to allow time for a new National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) to be produced.
Confrontational and adversarial relationships between public bodies and those that manage facilities under the private finance initiative (PFI) will damage the return to the public sector of some 150 assets over this Parliament and rack up large legal costs.
A road sweeper from Beckenham has been told he cannot accept a £3,000 donation raised by the community which aimed to send him on holiday, due to his employer’s “contractual obligations” with Bromley Council.
Middlesbrough Council's approach to awarding a series of contracts worth more than £4m "failed to comply" with procurement law, the local authority's external auditors have said.
The Technology and Construction Court has granted a declaration sought by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care that certain documents relating to an aborted contract for Covid-19 lateral flow test kits are under the control of the main contractor in the dispute.
Courts should not strike out cases because they are too complex, the Competition Appeals Tribunal has said in a long-running dispute over the European truck cartel.
Localis has criticised the Labour Party and Conservative Party over their "common neglect of the need of local government for immediate capacity uplift" in an analysis of their manifestos.
Central government and local authorities do not have proper information about the quality of outsourced public services, and are often unaware of rights abuses until too late, a report from law reform and human rights charity Justice has claimed.
The Government Commercial Function has published a National Procurement Policy Statement setting out the strategic priorities for public procurement and how contracting authorities can support their delivery.
Whistleblowing allegations relating to contracts signed by Guildford Borough Council were not taken to members, according to an independent review conducted by SOLACE.
Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council has failed in a security of costs application to the High Court over a dispute with a former recruitment contractor.
An investigation into £500,000 worth of payments made by Essex County Council for social media campaigns has been unable to find what the selection process was like for awarding the work or whether there was a competitive process involved.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) did not act improperly when it exclude a non-compliant bid from a tender process, the Technology and Construction Court has found.
The Cabinet Office has published a first batch of guidance documents aimed at providing technical guidance on the Procurement Act 2023 and helping with interpretation and understanding of the new regime.
The Cabinet Office has issued a procurement policy note on improving transparency of AI use in procurement, setting out how to manage risks and opportunities associated with such systems.
The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court ruling that an error in the award of an NHS orthodontic contract was not sufficiently serious to entitle the claimant to Francovich damages.
Louise Bennett sets out the key considerations for contracting authorities when they come to launch a procurement exercise under the incoming Procurement Act 2023.
Jan Cumming considers the position on modifying contracts entered into or for which the procurement commenced before the go-live date of the Procurement Act 2023.
39 Essex Chambers Barrister Katherine Barnes is joined by Laura Thornton, Associate Director at Osborne Clarke, to discuss challenges and remedies under the Procurement Act 2023. Having identified the main changes, the speakers go on to consider the significance of the changes.
In this episode, 39 Essex Chambers barrister Katherine Barnes is joined by Jonathan Davey, Partner at Addleshaw Goddard specialising in procurement and commercial law, to discuss the rules for the modification of contracts under the Procurement Act 2023, the extent to which these represent a substantive change in practice and possible difficulties arising.
39 Essex Chambers barrister Katherine Barnes and Parishil Patel KC is joined by Lucy James, partner and National Head of Commercial Litigation at Trowers & Hamlins, to discuss the grounds on which suppliers can be excluded under the Procurement Act 2023, the new debarment list and the implications of these for procurement practice and litigation.
In the first episode of this series, Katherine Barnes and Rose Grogan of 39 Essex Chambers introduce the Procurement Act 2023 and its new procurement procedures. Over multiple episodes, Katherine Barnes, public, procurement and planning barrister at 39 Essex Chambers, will discuss the key changes to public procurement under the Procurement Act 2023 with various expert speakers. The podcast takes…
On 12 September, the Government confirmed the rumours and the highly anticipated Procurement Act 2023 (the “Act”), due to come in to force on 28 October 2024, will now be delayed until 24 February 2025 [1]. Whilst this may result in a sigh of relief for many, write Sophie Mcfie-Hyland and Lorraine Spurling, for others it will trigger a huge chorus of “so where does this leave my planned…
The latest batch of guidance on the Procurement Act 2023 (the Act) released by the Cabinet Office includes the eagerly awaited guidance on frameworks. Dr Steven Brunning looks at the key considerations.
Jenny Beresford-Jones considers the current position for challenging an exclusion prior to assessment of tenders at the SQ/Participation Stage, and how it will change when the Procurement Act reforms come into effect.
Jenny Beresford-Jones considers the current position for challenging an exclusion prior to assessment of tenders at the SQ/Participation Stage, and how it will change when the Procurement Act reforms come into effect.
A recent Court of Appeal ruling is a reminder of the applicable limitation periods for those procurements commenced under the current regime, write John Houlden, Laura Tudor and Abigail Cropper.
With the introduction of the Procurement Act 2023 little more than four months away, Clare Hardy provides an overview of the key changes coming into force