PART 4Management of public contracts
Notices about payments and performance
69Payments compliance notices
1
Before the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the last day of a reporting period, a contracting authority must publish a payments compliance notice if during that period—
a
the authority made a payment under a public contract;
b
a sum owed by the authority under a public contract became payable.
2
A “payments compliance notice” means a notice setting out—
a
specified information about the contracting authority’s compliance with the term set out in section 68(2) (payment within 30 days), and
b
any other specified information.
3
For the purposes of this section, a reporting period is—
a
the period beginning with the day on which this section comes into force and ending with the 31 March or 30 September following that day, whichever is earlier, and
b
each successive period of six months.
4
A Minister of the Crown or the Welsh Ministers may by regulations make provision about the preparation of a payments compliance notice, including provision requiring that the notice must be approved by a person of a description specified in the regulations.
5
In subsection (2), “specified information” means information specified in regulations under section 95.
6
This section does not apply—
a
to a transferred Northern Ireland authority,
b
to private utilities,
c
in relation to a public contract awarded by a school, or
d
in relation to a concession contract.
70Information about payments under public contracts
1
A contracting authority must publish specified information about any payment of more than £30,000 made by the authority under a public contract.
2
The information must be published before the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the last day of the quarter in which the payment was made.
3
A Minister of the Crown or the Welsh Ministers may by regulations amend this section for the purpose of changing—
a
the financial threshold;
b
the time limit for publication.
4
This section does not apply in relation to a public contract that is—
a
a utilities contract awarded by a private utility,
b
a concession contract,
c
awarded by a school,
d
awarded by a transferred Northern Ireland authority, unless it is awarded as part of a procurement under a reserved procurement arrangement or devolved Welsh procurement arrangement, or
e
awarded as part of a procurement under a transferred Northern Ireland procurement arrangement.
5
In this section—
“quarter” means a period of three months ending with 31 March, 30 June, 30 September or 31 December in any year;
“specified information” means information specified in regulations under section 95.
71Assessment of contract performance
1
2
At least once in every period of twelve months during the life-cycle of the contract and on termination of the contract the contracting authority must —
a
assess performance against the key performance indicators, and
b
publish information specified in regulations under section 95 in relation to that assessment.
3
Subsection (5) applies if—
a
a supplier has breached a public contract, and
b
the breach results in—
i
termination (or partial termination) of the contract,
ii
the award of damages, or
iii
a settlement agreement between the supplier and the contracting authority.
4
Subsection (5) also applies if a contracting authority considers that a supplier—
a
is not performing a public contract to the authority’s satisfaction,
b
has been given proper opportunity to improve performance, and
c
has failed to do so.
5
Before the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the day on which this subsection first applies in relation to a particular breach or failure to perform, the contracting authority concerned must publish the following information—
a
that this subsection applies,
b
the circumstances giving rise to its application, and
c
any other information specified in regulations under section 95.
6
Subsection (5) does not apply in relation to a light touch contract.
7
This section does not apply to private utilities.