Changes Ahead: Public Procurement 2014

At the end of 2011, after extensive public consultation, the European Commission published its proposals for simplifying and modernising the public procurement regime. It is not expected that the proposals will become law in the UK before June or July 2014. However, the Commission is now in the process of making the final revisions to the relevant Directives.

Why?

UK current law is based on the public sector and utilities Directives of 2004, supplemented in 2007 by another Directive setting out the remedies available to aggrieved suppliers when there are problems with the process. Despite the innovations and improvements brought about by these Directives, the regime has been criticised for taking too long to implement them, and for being resource heavy and inflexible. A number of changes have been introduced to address these issues.