The Cabinet Office has recently issued a further Procurement Policy Note, which contains important guidance for contracting authorities – such as councils and registered providers of social housing - on the transparency requirements for publishing on Contracts Finder.
Last month, the Cabinet Office published their seventh Procurement Policy Note of 2021. PPN 07/21 reflects changes following Brexit and clarifies the requirements of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) to make information about opportunities and awards over certain low-value thresholds available in one place, namely on Contracts Finder (‘CFS’).
Part 4 of the PCR 2015 introduced the requirement to advertise on CFS if a contracting authority advertises any procurement over £25,000 (£10,000 for Central Government). This captures below ‘OJEU threshold’ procurements and applies in addition to the requirement to advertise most above-threshold contract opportunities across the UK on Find a Tender (FTS). (FTS is the UK’s new e-notification service which replaced the Official Journal of the European Union (‘OJEU’) after Brexit.) One purpose of PPN 07/21 is to recognise Brexit and the replacement of OJEU with FTS.
While PPN 07/21 and the accompanying guidance note do not overhaul the PCR 2015, they do provide clear, consolidated guidance on the main principles of these regulations. This guidance differs from previous guidance and should be applied by the relevant contracting authorities with immediate effect.
We have summarised the key points below.
Dissemination and Scope
Part 1 of the guidance replaces PPN 07/16 and applies to all contracting authorities across the public sector, save for those which fall under one of three exempt categories, such as devolved parliaments.
Part 2 of the guidance replaces previous guidance on “Publication of Central Government Tenders and Contracts” and sets out the requirements on central government authorities to publish tender and contract documents on CFS. Part 2 does not apply to contracting authorities which are exempt from Part 1.
Key changes to note
- The term “Contract award” has been further defined as the date on which the contract is signed by the last contracting party. Timescales for award notices on CFS will be taken to commence on the day after the contract has been signed by the last contract party, and if the deadline for publication of the contract information falls on a non-working day, then the contracting authority has until the end of the next working day to publish the information on CFS. (The FAQ section of the guidance note deals with various scenarios, including where services commence before the contract is signed.)
- Under Part 2 of the guidance, Central Government is re-defined closer to the definition in PCR 2015. That said, departments may include other Executive Agencies and bodies for which they are responsible that are not explicitly listed in PCR 2015 as central government authorities.
- Central Government organisations have a revised timescale for publishing awarded contract documents on Contracts Finder linked to the award date. This fixed timescale replaces the former requirement to publish this information within 20 days following the end of a ten-day standstill period. This aligns with the requirements placed on non-central government contracting authorities and better aligns with the requirements regarding FTS notices in PCR 2015.
PPN 07/21 and the accompanying guidance note also clarifies requirements in respect of redactions, framework agreements and contract modifications.
Contracting authorities should ensure they understand the implications of any relevant changes on any current or prospective procurements. Importantly, PPN 07/21 is not comprehensive and contracting authorities should seek legal advice if they require further information on their legal obligations.
The Brabners Procurement Team provides commercial and practical advice on a range of public procurement matters. If you have a query, please contact us.
