5 Amendments to the Procurement Bill

September 2022

From our analysis, many of the key elements that made the Procurement Bill Green Paper radical and exciting are hinted at, but are not clearly written into the legislation. Whilst secondary regulations will be important in providing more detail, the Bill needs clear language on a number of key provisions to prevent them being lost or forgotten. As the Bill progresses through the House of Lords, these are UKACC’s top five amendment recommendations.

1) Transparency: Mandating a free of charge, digital platform, to bring procurement notices together to provide a single source of truth on procurement for government, companies and citizens.

2) Tackling Economic Crime in Procurement: Conveying powers to relevant authorities to exclude suppliers from procurement where there is evidence of financial and criminal activity.

3) Conflicts of Interest: Strengthening language to require suppliers to submit declarations and comply with codes of conduct.

4) Dispute Resolution: Simplifying and improving remedy clauses in the Bill, including pre-civil dispute procedures.

5) Direct Awards: Adding a sunset clause and parliamentary oversight for emergency contracts awarded without competition.