The Utilities Supply and Works Contracts Regulations 1992

PART VI MISCELLANEOUS

Obligations relating to employment protection and working conditions

23.  A utility which includes in the contract documents relating to a works contract information as to where a contractor may obtain information about the obligations relating to employment protection and working conditions which will apply to the works to be carried out under the contract, shall request contractors to indicate that they have taken account of those obligations in preparing their tender or in negotiating the contract.

Sub-contracting

24.  A utility may require a supplier or contractor to indicate in his tender what part of the contract if any he intends to sub-contract to another person.

Preservation of records

25.—(1) When these Regulations apply to the seeking of offers in relation to a contract a utility shall keep appropriate information on each such contract sufficient to justify decisions taken in connection with—

(a) the qualification and selection of suppliers or contractors and the award of contracts;

(b) the recourse to derogations from the requirement that European specifications be referred to pursuant to regulation 11(4) above; and

(c) the use of a procedure without a call for competition pursuant to regulation 15 above.

(2) When a utility decides not to apply these Regulations to the seeking of offers in relation to a contract in accordance with regulations 6, 7 and 9 above it shall keep appropriate information on such a contract sufficient to justify that decision.

(3) The information referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) above shall be preserved for at least four years fromm the date of the award of the contract.

Statistical and other reports

26.—(1) A utility shall each year by the date notified to it by the Minister send to the Minister a report specifying the aggregate value (estimated if necessary) of the consideration payable under the contracts awarded in the previous year and excluded from the operation of these Regulations by regulation 9 above for each of the following categories of activity—

(a) the production, transport or distribution of drinking water, hydraulic engineering, irrigation, land drainage or the disposal or treatment of sewage;

(b) the production, transport or distribution of electricity;

(c) the transport or distribution of gas or heat;

(d) the exploration for and extraction of oil or gas;

(e) the exploration for and extraction of coal or other solid fuels;

(f) railway services;

(g) urban railway, tramway, trolleybus or bus services;

(h) the provision of airport facilities;

(i) the provision of maritime or inland port or other terminal facilities; and

(j) the operation of telecommunications networks or the provision of telecommunications services.

(2) A utility when requested shall send to the Minister a report for the purpose of informing the Commission—

(a) containing such information as the Minister may from time to time require in respect of a particular supply or works contract (including contracts excluded from the application of these Regulations by regulations 6 to 9 above);

(b) specifying which of its activities it considers are not activities specified in the Part of Schedule 1 in which the utility is specified, or are activities outside the territory of the Communities not involving the physical use of a network or geographical area within the Communities; and

(c) specifying the categories of goods or works it considers comprise the goods and works which it acquires in order to sell or to hire them to another person, but which it does not have a special or exclusive right to sell or hire and which other persons are free to sell or hire under the same conditions.

(3) A utility may indicate that any of the information included in a report sent to the Minister pursuant to paragraph 2(c) above is of a sensitive commercial nature, and request that it not be published.

The Responsible Minister

27.—(1) Any reference to the Minister in these Regulations shall be deemed to be a reference to the Minister responsible for that utility.

(2) The Minister responsible for a utility shall be the Minister of the Crown whose areas of responsibility are most closely connected with the functions of the utility; and any question as to which Minister of the Crown’s areas of responsibility are most closely connected with the functions of a utility shall be determined by the Treasury whose determination shall be final.

(3) The requirement on a utility to send any report in accordance with regulations 7(2), 20(8) and 26 to the Minister shall be enforceable, on the application of the Minister responsible, by mandamus, or in Scotland, for an order for specific performance.

(4) Proceedings under paragraph (3) above brought in Scotland shall be brought before the Court of Session.

(5) In the application of this regulation to Northern Ireland references to the Minister shall include references to the head of a Northern Ireland department.

(6) The Minister to whom a report is sent in accordance with regulations 7(2), 20(8) and 26 shall send the report to the Treasury for onward transmission to the Commission.

Official Journal notices

28.—(1) Any notice required by these Regulations to be sent to the Official Journal shall be sent by the most appropriate means to the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities(1).

(2) The utility shall retain evidence of the date of despatch to the Official Journal of each notice.

(3) The utility may in exceptional cases request that a contract notice be published within 5 days of the date of despatch, provided that it is sent by electronic mail, telex or facsimile(2).

(4) The utility may publish the information contained in a contract notice in such other way as it thinks fit but it shall not do so until the notice has been despatched in accordance with paragraph (1) above and shall not publish any information other than that contained in the notice.

Confidentiality of Information

29.  A utility which makes information available to a supplier or contractor pursuant to these Regulations may impose requirements on him for the purpose of protecting the confidentiality of that information.

(1)

The address for the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities is 2 rue Mercier, L-2985, Luxembourg, tel 499 28-1, telex 1324 PUBOF LU, fax 49 00 03, 49 57 19.

(2)

The Office for the Official Publications is required by article 19(3) of Council Directive 90/531/EEC (OJ No. L297, 29.10.90, p.1) to publish notices within 12 days of the date of despatch, and to endeavour to publish contract notices within 5 days of the date of despatch in response to a request pursuant to this paragraph.