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ARTICLE · 31 MARCH 2020

Public Procurement And COVID-19

Gowling WLG
Gowling WLG
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The Cabinet Office has issued two Procurement Policy Notes ('PPNs') to support Contracting Authorities and their suppliers in mitigating the immediate impact of COVID-19.

United KingdomGovernment, Public Sector
Robert Breedon
Robert Breedon
Alison Richards
Alison Richards
Simon Harris
Simon Harris
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The Cabinet Office has issued two Procurement Policy Notes ('PPNs') to support Contracting Authorities and their suppliers in mitigating the immediate impact of COVID-19. PPN 01/20 (Responding to COVID-19) provides guidance for Contracting Authorities on how to respond to the impact of COVID-19, and how contracts can be awarded in cases of extreme urgency. PPN 02/20 (Supplier relief due to COVID-19) focuses on payment of suppliers to ensure service continuity during and after COVID-19.

In this latest Insight, we have summarised the PPNs, examining the guidance and the consequences for the public sector.

Procurement policy note 1/20 - responding to covid-19

The first of the PPNs provides guidance for Contracting Authorities on the available options for procuring goods works and services in an emergency, including of note, through the use of Regulation 32(2) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ('PCR') which allows a direct award of a contract due to reasons of

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