Procurement Act 2023

79 Terminating public contracts: national security

(1) A relevant contracting authority may not terminate a contract by reference to the implied term in section 78 on the basis of the discretionary exclusion ground in paragraph 14 of Schedule 7 (threat to national security) unless—

(a) the authority has notified a Minister of the Crown of its intention, and

(b) the Minister considers that—

(i) the supplier or sub-contractor is an excludable supplier by reference to paragraph 14 of Schedule 7, and

(ii) the contract should be terminated.

(2) A relevant contracting authority may not terminate a contract by reference to the implied term in section 78 on the basis of the mandatory exclusion ground in paragraph 35 of Schedule 6 (threat to national security) unless the authority has notified a Minister of the Crown of its intention.

(3) In this section, a “relevant contracting authority” means a contracting authority other than—

(a) a Minister of the Crown or a government department,

(b) the Corporate Officer of the House of Commons, or

(c) the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords.