Government sets 26 February introduction date for procurement regulations

The majority of the provisions contained in the new Public Contracts Regulations 2015 are to come into force on 26 February, after the regulations were laid before Parliament last week.

Ruth Connorton, Head of Procurement Law at DAC Beachcroft, said: “Only procurements commenced (e.g. advertised) on or after this date will be subject to these new Regulations so anything that authorities want to be subject to the current procurement regime should be commenced in the next couple of weeks.”

She noted how some provisions would come into force at a later date. The key dates/provisions are:

• 1 April 2015: Requirement for non-Crown bodies to place an advert on Contracts Finder in addition to OJEU. (Crown bodies must comply from 26 February 2015).
• 18 April: Procurement of health services for the purposes of the NHS e.g health services procured by clinical commissioning groups and NHS England. Before this date, the 2006 regulations will continue to apply.
• 18 April: Central Purchasing Bodies must comply with e-procurement requirements (all communication and information exchange must be carried out electronically). Contracting Authorities must also use an electronic format for the European Single Procurement Document "ESPD" (a document that can be submitted by suppliers at selection stage).
• 18 October: Contracting Authorities must have recourse to the e-Certis system (a system that standardises supplier certification across the EU). Remaining Contracting Authorities must also comply with e-procurement requirements (all communication and information exchange must be carried out electronically).

The Cabinet Office last week also published its formal response to the consultation on UK transposition of the new EU Procurement Directives.