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Abandoning a Procurement – Is it time to jump ship?

At a glance

Recent decisions, including by Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, highlight contracting authorities (‘CAs’) ability to abandon a procurement process where appropriate.

Here the CA decided to withdraw a £65 million pound contract award after legal action was commenced by an unsuccessful bidder. This is not the first time the courts have

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A shift in policy – More focused and cautious approach to legal reform nearly 4 years after Brexit?

After Brexit, much of the EU law that applied to the UK was retained in domestic law. Section 6 of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (REUL Act) aimed to amend certain provisions within section 6 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (‘EUWA’).

It was designed to allow the UK Court of Appeal and Supreme Court

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DfE’s Condition Improvement Fund – CMA Launches Investigation into Possible Bid-Rigging

On 11 December the Competition and Markets Authority (‘CMA’) announced that it had launched an investigation into suspected bid-rigging in relation to a key government fund for improving the condition of school buildings. Bid-rigging has serious competition and procurement implications, and the CMA has issued almost £60 million in fines in the last year alone to firms who

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Value for money – general good practice for local authorities

Recent reports, such as that published by Middlesbrough Council earlier this year exploring their value for money arrangements, have outlined how some local authorities have struggled to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources. With several high-profile section 114 notices also being issued by authorities including Birmingham City Council in late 2023, this article explores key

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Procurement Act 2023: What does the delay mean for you?

On 12th September, the Government confirmed the rumours and the highly anticipated Procurement Act 2023 (the “Act”), due to come in to force on 28 October 2024, will now be delayed until 24 February 2025[1]. Whilst this may result in a sigh of relief for many, for others it will trigger a huge chorus of “so where

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The Procurement Act 2023 (Commencement No. 3) Regulations 2024 – Transitional and Saving Provisions

The Procurement Act 2023 (Commencement No.3 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2024 (the “Regulations”) were published on 30 May 2024, having been made on 22 May 2024, alongside the Procurement Regulations 2024 – please see our separate article on these here .

The following article sets out a summary of some of the key provisions of those

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