A big year for public sector purchasers

Having received the approval of both the European Commission and Parliament in January, and promises of swift implementation by the Cabinet Office, we have had a wait to see the Directives published.  But now, following their publication in the Official Journal of the EU (“OJEU”) today, we can at last say that the expected new EU procurement regime will come into force on Thursday 17th April. 

The new regime includes three Directives:

• Directive 2014/23/EU on the award of concession contracts
• Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement (and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC)
• Directive 2014/25/EU on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors (and repealing Directive 2004/17/EC).

Cabinet Office has two years from 17th April but, even with the delays in Europe, we still expect their timetable to be much shorter.  They will keep us abreast of their developments here: https://www.gov.uk/transposing-eu-procurement-directives and will be continuing the discussion and consultation process they have already begun (and in which we are participating).  

There are some significant changes introduced by the new public sector Directive, not least a new “light touch” regime for some “social” services, which replaces the current Part B, an increased focus on social and environmental matters in procurement; and codification of key pieces of case law from recent years – including a detailed test for a ‘Teckal’ company, and rules governing when a material change to a contract requires a new procurement exercise.

We will be providing training on the new public sector Directive (Directive 2014/24) during the course of this year.  Click here for more information on our procurement and other training sessions, offered free for clients.  

For more information on the new Directives, the Cabinet Office’s discussion, consultation and implementation programme, or any other aspect of public procurement, please contact Gayle Monk on gayle.monk@anthonycollins.com, Mark Cook on mark.cook@anthonycollins.com, Andrew Millross on andrew.millross@anthonycollins.com or your usual contact within Anthony Collins Solicitors.

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