Prospective
(1)A contracting authority must take all reasonable steps to ensure that a conflict of interest does not put a supplier at an unfair advantage or disadvantage in relation to a covered procurement.
(2)Reasonable steps may include requiring a supplier to take reasonable steps.
(3)Subsection (4) applies if a contracting authority considers that—
(a)a conflict of interest puts a supplier at an unfair advantage in relation to the award of a public contract, and
(b)either—
(i)the advantage cannot be avoided, or
(ii)the supplier will not take steps that the contracting authority considers are necessary in order to ensure it is not put at an unfair advantage.
(4)The contracting authority must in relation to the award—
(a)treat the supplier as an excluded supplier for the purpose of—
(i)assessing tenders under section 19 (competitive award), or
(ii)awarding a contract under section 41 or 43 (direct award), and
(b)exclude the supplier from participating in, or progressing as part of, any competitive tendering procedure.
(5)In this section, “conflict of interest” has the meaning given in section 81.
Commencement Information
I1S. 82 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 127(2)