New Procurement Rules come into force

The UK regime governing procurement by public bodies and by utilities has today been overhauled by the introduction of two new sets of regulations – The Public Contracts Regulations 2006 and The Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006.

The new regulations consolidate and update the existing rules. They implement two corresponding EU Directives which were finalised in March 2004. The new rules come into effect on 31 January 2006 - just in time to meet the deadline for implementation of the EU Directives.

The main changes for procurements by public bodies involve:

• a wholly new "competitive dialogue" procedure designed for PFI/PPPs;

• detailed rules on the use framework agreements; and

• rules governing e-procurement, including the use of e-auctions.