Published
PPN 04/21 builds on guidance contained in previous PPNs regarding applying exclusions in public procurement, managing conflicts of interest and whistleblowing. It clarifies changes to regulations in regard to excluding bidders from a procurement process and provides supplementary information including case law and additional support material.
Should you be involved in running your own procurement procedures subject to The Public Contracts Regulations (i.e. not via a framework agreement), the most relevant information is contained in:
Section 1: Information, advice and direction to support activities relating to the application of exclusions in public procurement; and
Section 2: The prevention, identification and remedy of conflicts of interest in a commercial context.
When using CPC framework agreements, it is the responsibility of CPC to apply the exclusion rules when creating the framework and therefore this is not an area that you have to worry about!
Procurement Policy Note 03/21: The Sourcing & Consultancy Playbooks (PPN 03/21)
The Sourcing Playbook is the third annual refresh of the Outsourcing Playbook. It sets out how to procure and manage services to deliver better outcomes and value for money. It outlines the government’s expectations for how contracting authorities and suppliers should engage with each other. The Consultancy Playbook provides specific guidance on sourcing consultancy services.
Education institutions such as schools, academies and colleges are not ‘in-scope’ organisations for the purposes of implementing PPN 03/21. However, The Sourcing Playbook, Consultancy Playbook and associated guidance are considered good practice and could be useful to anyone involved in outsourcing key or high value services.
Should you have any queries about the procurement regulations or would like to find out more, please do not hesitate to contact your CPC Regional Procurement Advisor.