Procurement Act 2023

61 Investigations under section 60: reports

(1) This section applies where an appropriate authority has conducted an investigation under section 60.

(2) The Welsh Ministers or a Northern Ireland department—

(a) may refer the case to a Minister of the Crown for the Minister’s consideration for the purposes of section 62(1), and

(b) if they do so, must provide the Minister with all information relevant to their findings.

(3) A Minister of the Crown who has conducted, or considered the findings of, an investigation must—

(a) prepare a report in relation to the findings of the investigation,

(b) give a copy to the supplier concerned as soon as reasonably practicable after the report is prepared, and

(c) publish it.

Paragraphs (b) and (c) are subject to subsection (5).

(4) The report must, in particular, set out whether the Minister is satisfied that the supplier is, by virtue of a relevant exclusion ground, an excluded or excludable supplier, and if the Minister is so satisfied—

(a) in respect of each applicable relevant exclusion ground—

(i) whether it is a mandatory or discretionary ground,

(ii) the date on which the Minister expects the ground to cease to apply (see paragraph 44 of Schedule 6 and paragraph 15 of Schedule 7), and

(iii) whether the Minister intends to make an entry to the debarment list,

(b) in respect of the exclusion ground in paragraph 35 of Schedule 6 (if applicable), the description of contracts in relation to which the Minister—

(i) is satisfied the ground applies, and

(ii) intends to refer to in a relevant entry in the debarment list, and

(c) in each case, the Minister’s reasons.

(5) If the Minister considers it necessary to do so for a purpose mentioned in subsection (6), the Minister may—

(a) remove information from a report before publishing it or giving it to the supplier concerned;

(b) decide not to publish the report;

(c) decide not to give the report to the supplier;

(d) disclose the report only to such persons as the Minister considers appropriate.

(6) The purposes are—

(a) safeguarding national security;

(b) preventing the publication of information that is sensitive commercial information where there is an overriding public interest in it being withheld from publication or other disclosure.

(7) In this section—

• “relevant exclusion ground” has the meaning given by section 59;

• “sensitive commercial information” has the meaning given by section 94.