Procurement update march 2021

www.pcc-cic.org.uk © 2021 PCC
Procurement Update March 2021
Issues Covered
1. Procurement during COVID/in an Emergency
2. Procurement Rules Post Brexit/Find A Tender Service
3. Social Value
4. Proposed Procurement Reforms

1. Procurement during COVID/in an Emergency
As per previous PCC SlideShares on Procurement Guidance during Covid-19:
• There are provisions under current regulations for urgent procurement without
competitive tendering including: direct awards due to urgency and absence of
competition; call-off from existing framework or Dynamic Purchasing Systems; or
extending/modifying an existing contract - see PPN* 01/20 – March 2020
• Contracting Authorities should be supportive of suppliers in terms of: payment
arrangement which assist with cash flow and promote continuity of supply; work in
partnership with suppliers to develop transition plans to exit from any relief; and
maintain a record of decisions - see PPN 02/20 – March 2020 & PPN 04/20 – June
2020
*PPN = “Procurement Policy Note” issued by the Cabinet Office .

1. Procurement during COVID/in an Emergency Cont’d
Additionally, PPN 01/21 issued in February 2021:
• Reiterates the mechanisms available but emphases the need to consider the key risks:
poor value for money/abnormally high pricing; unequal treatment of suppliers; poor
practice such as retrospective contract awards and due diligence checks; and lack of
documentation to record decisions made and how conflicts of interest have been
addressed
• Emphasises the need to record/justify all decisions at all stages of the procurement
• Suggests that consideration should be given to “some form of advertisement, running
an informal competition and/or undertaking due diligence on the supplier market before
making a direct award” even though this is not required in the regulations

2. Procurement Rules Post Brexit/Find A Tender
• Although the UK has left the EU, the public procurement regulations associated with
EU membership are embodied in UK law (e.g. through the Public Contracts Regulations
2015) and therefore these continue to apply
• The one significant change is that contract advertisements and awards are no longer to
be published in OJEU/TED (Official Journal of the European Union/Tenders Electronic
Daily) but instead will be published on a new portal, Find A Tender Service (FTS) -
https://www.gov.uk/find-tender
• This together with Contracts Finder, for contracts over £10k,
(https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder) is the place where suppliers should search for
potential supply opportunities - see PPN 08/20 – Nov 2020 & PPN 10/20 – Dec 2020
• Public contracts must comply with the requirements of the WTO Government
Procurement Agreement and the UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) to
ensure open procurement markets between participants– see PPN 02/21 – Feb 2021

3. Social Value
• The Public Services (Social Value) 2012 obliged commissioners of services, including
healthcare, to “consider” how a procurement might improve economic, social and
environmental well-being of a local community
• PPN06/20 (Sept 2020) promotes the use of a Social Value Model in all public
procurements where it is relevant and proportionate to ensure a standardised approach
and that social value is taken into account when evaluating bids with a minimum
weighting of 10%
• Key themes within the Social Value Model are supporting communities to: recover from
the impact of Covid-19; creation of new jobs and skills, delivery of environmental
benefits; providing employment opportunities for the disabled and disadvantaged;
improving health and well-being, and community integration
• Bidders will see this model increasingly used in procurements and will be expected to
be demonstrate how they will address these issues when providing services

4. Proposed Procurement Reforms (1)
In the context of proposed changes to the structure of the NHS, the impact of Covid-19 and
exiting the EU, several proposals have been made regarding changes to procurement
processes within the NHS.
1. The Government White Paper, “Integration and Innovation: working together to
improve health and social care for all” includes proposals to:
• Remove the CMA’s (Competition and Markets Authority) jurisdiction over mergers of
NHS bodies
• Repeal the “Procurement. Patient Choice & Competition Regulations” (Section 75) and
exempt healthcare services from the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and replace
this with a bespoke Provider Selection Regime
• Maintain the principle of patient choice including through the continued use of AQP
(Any Qualified Provider) arrangements

2. “NHS Provider Selection Regime: Consultation on Proposals” (Feb 2021) aims to
increase flexibility and reduce bureaucracy and includes:
• Decision-making bodies (including NHS England and ICSs) would have a choice of
three options in determining providers:
 Continuing existing arrangements without competition
 Identifying the most suitable provider without competition for new/substantially
changed arrangements
 Competitive procurement
• The following criteria should be considered in determining the optimum option: quality
and innovation; value; integration and collaboration; access, inequalities and choice;
service sustainability and social value.

2. “NHS Provider Selection Regime: Consultation on Proposals” (Feb 2021) aims to
increase flexibility and reduce bureaucracy and includes continued:
• Use of AQPs to promote patient choice will not be subject to formal procurement
processes.
• There must be transparency including the publication of decisions and contract awards
and the consideration of conflicts of interest but there would no longer be a right of legal
challenge.
The deadline for feedback is 7 April 2021.

3. The Government Green Paper, “Transforming Public Procurement” proposes a
completely new single set of rules for public procurement. Although this will not embrace the
procurement of healthcare which is covered by the above proposed NHS reforms it will
impact on the procurement of goods and non-healthcare services by NHS bodies. It
includes:
• A new set of public procurement principles
• A choice of three procurement processes
• The promotion of value and innovation based on the concept of Most Advantageous
Tender (MAT) when evaluating bids
• A set of open standards relating to public procurement data
• Revised arrangements for challenging procurement decisions
N.B. Although the consultation process on this paper has now closed, it is likely to result in firm proposals for reform
incorporating the above issues.

Key Messages
• In the event of Covid-19 and other emergencies, mechanisms exist to conduct urgent
procurements without competitive tendering but there are significant risks that need to
be assessed before doing so and all deliberations/decisions should be documented
• For the time being existing procurement rules largely remain in place but contract
advertisements, awards and other notices are now published in the new Find a Tender
Service
• Social Value will increasingly become a focus in tenders based around the Social Value
Model with a minimum 10% weighting given to this criteria
• Far-reaching changes to the procurement processes relating to the commissioning of
healthcare are proposed which are likely to reduce the level of competitive tendering

References/Links
• All Procurement Policy Notes (PPNs) referred to above -
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/procurement-policy-notes
• Find A Tender Service (FTS) - https://www.gov.uk/find-tender
• Contracts Finder - https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder
• “Integration and Innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all” -
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-health-and-
social-care-for-all/integration-and-innovation-working-together-to-improve-health-and-
social-care-for-all-html-version
• “NHS Provider Selection Regime: Consultation on Proposals” -
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/B0135-provider-selection-
regime-consultation.pdf
• “Transforming Public Procurement” -
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/green-paper-transforming-public-
procurement

Support from PCC
If you have procurement queries, or to discuss how we can support your
organisation, please contact enquiries@pcc-cic.org.uk

Procurement update march 2021

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Procurement update march 2021