PLC Public Sector reports:
Make sure that you have not missed a key development in your area of the law by reviewing our latest list of recommended actions. Continue reading
Martin Vincent, Partner, Weightmans LLP:
On 8 March 2012, the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 was passed with the headline being that when conducting a procurement for services that is subject to the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended) contracting authorities must consider:
“how what is proposed to be procured might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the relevant area, and how, in conducting the process of procurement, it might act with a view to securing that improvement.”
We’ve seen a recent surge in demand for advice on “policy by procurement”, but what are the implications of the new Act?
PLC Public Sector reports:
Make sure that you have not missed a key development in your area of the law by reviewing our latest list of recommended actions. Continue reading
PLC Public Sector reports:
Following significant interest in our opinion blog post on our top 10 public procurement cases of 2011, we will be publishing a monthly update looking at the key issues raised by the latest public procurement cases. This first post covers the period from January to March 2012. Going forward, posts will be published at the end of each month looking at the key cases from that month.
Please feel free to submit a comment below or contact us at: feedback@practicallaw.com if you have any views on the cases covered or think that we have missed a case that should be brought to the attention of public procurement practitioners.
PLC Public Sector reports:
Make sure that you have not missed a key development in your area of the law by reviewing our latest list of recommended actions. Continue reading
PLC Public Sector reports:
It is a standard part of many public procurement processes to instruct a credit reference agency (CRA) to undertake financial checks on potential tenderers at the pre-qualification stage and often again prior to any contract being entered into. This appears to be a sensible step to take for obvious practical reasons. However, could it place the authorities doing so at risk of breaching the public procurement rules? Some commentators are suggesting that it could.
Following queries on this subject from several PLC subscribers, in this post we set out our views on the potential problems, how the risk of challenge can be mitigated and also invite you to share your experiences. Continue reading
PLC Public Sector reports:
Make sure that you have not missed a key development in your area of the law by reviewing our latest list of recommended actions. Continue reading
14/03/2012
Knowing your limits: Uniplex delimited
Nicholas Gibson, Matrix Chambers:
As all public lawyers know, a judicial review claim must be brought: “promptly and in any event not later than three months after the grounds to make the claim first arose”: CPR r. 54.5(1) clearly states as much. But how much time does the requirement to act “promptly” allow a prospective claimant in practice? Where does the limit lie?
PLC Public Sector reports:
Make sure that you have not missed a key development in your area of the law by reviewing our latest list of recommended actions. Continue reading
07/03/2012
Empowered at last?
On 18 February 2012, the law on local authority powers was turned on its head. Now, instead of trying to find a statutory power to rely on before taking any action, local authorities can assume they have full power to act unless there is anything in legislation specifically preventing them. Continue reading