Procurement Act 2023

Reserving contracts to certain suppliers

32 Reserving contracts to supported employment providers

(1) A competitive flexible procedure may provide for suppliers that are not supported employment providers to be excluded from participating in, or progressing as part of, the procedure.

(2) Subsection (3) applies in relation to the award of a public contract under section 19 if the competitive flexible procedure provides for suppliers to be excluded as set out in subsection (1).

(3) In assessing tenders under section 19, a contracting authority must disregard any tender from a supplier that is not a supported employment provider.

(4) A “supported employment provider” means an organisation that operates wholly or partly for the purpose of providing employment, or employment-related support, to disabled or disadvantaged individuals where—

(a) disabled or disadvantaged individuals represent at least 30 per cent of the workforce of the organisation,

(b) if a particular part of the organisation is to perform the contract, disabled or disadvantaged individuals represent at least 30 per cent of the workforce of that part of the organisation, or

(c) if more than one organisation is to perform the contract, disabled or disadvantaged individuals represent at least 30 per cent of the combined workforce of—

(i) those organisations,

(ii) where a particular part of each organisation is to perform the contract, those parts, or

(iii) where a combination of organisations and parts is to perform the contract, those organisations and parts.

33 Reserving contracts to public service mutuals

(1) This section applies in relation to the award of a public contract under section 19 if the contract—

(a) is for reservable light touch services, and

(b) has a maximum term of five years or less.

(2) A competitive flexible procedure may provide for suppliers that are not qualifying public service mutuals to be excluded from participating in, or progressing as part of, the procedure.

(3) Subsection (4) applies in relation to the award of a public contract under section 19 if the competitive flexible procedure provides for suppliers to be excluded as set out in subsection (2).

(4) In assessing tenders under section 19, a contracting authority must disregard any tender from a supplier that is not a qualifying public service mutual.

(5) A “qualifying public service mutual” means a public service mutual that has not entered into a comparable contract during the period of three years ending with the day on which the contract referred to in subsection (1) is awarded.

(6) A “public service mutual” means a body that—

(a) operates for the purpose of delivering public services and mainly for the purpose of delivering one or more reservable light touch services,

(b) is run on a not-for-profit basis or provides for the distribution of profits only to members, and

(c) is under the management and control of its employees.

(7) In this section—

• “comparable contract” means a contract that was—

  (a)

  a contract for the same kind of services,

  (b)

  awarded by the same contracting authority, and

  (c)

  awarded in reliance on this section;

• “reservable light touch services” means services of a kind specified in regulations under subsection (8).

(8) An appropriate authority may by regulations specify services of a kind specified in regulations of the authority under section 9 (light touch contracts).