OGC issues policy note on Contract Notices
The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has recently issued a Procurement Policy Notice (PPN) regarding “the need to ensure published contract notices are accurate
and cover the complete requirement”. The PPN stresses the importance of Contracting
Authorities ensuring that their requirements (and potential requirements) are adequately
and accurately drafted in the Contract Notice.
Contracting Authorities set out their requirements in “Section II: Object of the
Contract” of their OJEU Contract Notice. This section includes such information as: a short description of the contract or purchase(s); Common Procurement Vocabulary;
the type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance;
and total quantity or scope (i.e. value).
The PPN states that particular care is required in the case of ‘wide-ranging’ contracts
that are being procured through the Negotiated or Competitive Dialogue procedures.
An example of that might be LEP procurement under BSF, where Contracting Authorities
are seeking a strategic partner who will be delivering a great range of goods and
works as well as the key LEP services over many years. However, while it is important
to include all of the Contracting Authority’s requirements, a Contract Notice should
not be drafted
in terms that are so wide as to become meaningless and thereby inaccurate;
Economic Operators must be able to determine what is being procured under the notice.
The need to check that the allocated “Heading” to the Contract Notice is accurate
is also highlighted in the PPN. The heading is completed by the OJEU Publications
Office, not the Contracting Authority drafting the notice, but it should be checked
by the Contracting Authority to ensure it is suitable.
This PPN is a further reminder to Contracting Authorities of the importance of ensuring
their procurement procedures are carefully managed and the rules are strictly adhered
to. This is becoming ever more important in the current economic climate as bidders
compete fiercely for work and may be more willing to challenge a procurement that
they see as unfair.
The PPN is available on the OGC website
here.
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For More Information Contact:
James Hudson
TPP Law Limited
53 Great Suffolk Street
London SE1 ODB
t 020 7620 0888
f 020 7620 0778
e info@tpplaw.co.uk
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