The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has launched a consultation on proposed new regulations governing procurements by public sector bodies and utilities. The new rules will consolidate and reform the existing regime. The new regulations will implement two new EC Directives which were finalised in March last year.
The main changes for procurements by public bodies involve:
- a wholly new "competitive dialogue" procedure designed for PFI/PPPs
- rules on the use of framework agreements; and
- rules governing e-procurement.
The main changes affecting utility procurements involve:
- the identity of bodies subject to the rules;
- new rules on awarding contracts to "affiliated undertakings"; and
- a new mechanism for utilities to seek exemption from the regulations.
The consultation period for the draft regulations closes on 12 September 2005. The UK has until the end of January 2006 to implement the EC Directives. The OGC’s consultation document and copies of the draft regulations can be found at:
http://www.ogc.gov.uk./index.asp?docid=1003745
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
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The original publication date for this article was 29/06/2005.