Set Aside Framework Will Not Be Retendered

The government has announced that the second of two frameworks recently set aside by the courts will not be retendered (for our Law-Now on the judgment click here). Instead, the £650m of schools modernisation work will be procured by individual contracts to try to make up for the two years lost in setting up the failed framework. Where does this leave matters?

• The public procurement rules must still be satisfied for the individual contracts. The government considers their procurement will be faster than a framework (although overall this approach may cost more).
• It is too early to say whether this represents a governmental shift against publicly procured frameworks given the relative ease with which, when incorrectly procured, they may be set aside even once executed (in contrast with other incorrectly procured, but executed, contracts for works).