The Public Contracts Regulations 2015

1. Introductory Text

2. PART 1 GENERAL

   1. 1. Citation, commencement, extent and application

   2. 2. Definitions

3. PART 2 RULES IMPLEMENTING THE PUBLIC CONTRACTS DIRECTIVE

   1. CHAPTER 1 SCOPE AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES

      1. SECTION 1 Scope

         1. SUB-SECTION 1

            Subject-matter and mixed procurement

            1. 3. Subject-matter and scope of Part 2

            2. 4. Mixed procurement

         2. SUB-SECTION 2

            Thresholds

            1. 5. Threshold amounts

            2. Methods for calculating the estimated value of procurement

            3. 6. (1) The calculation of the estimated value of a procurement...

         3. SUB-SECTION 3

            Exclusions

            1. 7. Contracts in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors

            2. 8. Specific exclusions in the field of electronic communications

            3. 9. Public contracts awarded, and design contests organised, pursuant to international rules

            4. 10. Specific exclusions for service contracts

            5. 11. Service contracts awarded on the basis of an exclusive right

            6. Public contracts between entities within the public sector

            7. 12. (1) A public contract awarded by a contracting authority to...

         4. SUB-SECTION 4

            Specific situations

            1. 13. Contracts subsidised by contracting authorities

            2. 14. Research and development services

            3. 15. Defence and security

            4. 16. Mixed procurement involving defence or security aspects

            5. 17. Public contracts and design contests involving defence or security aspects which are awarded or organised pursuant to international rules

      2. SECTION 2 General Rules

         1. 18. Principles of procurement

         2. 19. Economic operators

         3. 20. Reserved contracts

         4. 21. Confidentiality

         5. Rules applicable to communication

         6. 22. (1) Subject to paragraphs (3), (5), (8) and (10), all...

         7. 23. Nomenclatures

         8. 24. Conflicts of interest

   2. CHAPTER 2 RULES ON PUBLIC CONTRACTS

      1. SECTION 3 Procedures

         1. 25. Conditions relating to the GPA and other international agreements

         2. Choice of procedures

         3. 26. (1) When awarding public contracts, contracting authorities shall apply procedures...

         4. 27. Open procedure

         5. 28. Restricted procedure

         6. Competitive procedure with negotiation

         7. 29. (1) In competitive procedures with negotiation, any economic operator may...

         8. Competitive dialogue

         9. 30. (1) In competitive dialogues, any economic operator may submit a...

         10. 31. Innovation partnership

         11. 32. Use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication

      2. SECTION 4 Techniques and Instruments for Electronic and Aggregated Procurement

         1. 33. Framework agreements

         2. Dynamic purchasing systems

         3. 34. (1) Contracting authorities may use a dynamic purchasing system for...

         4. 35. Electronic auctions

         5. Electronic catalogues

         6. 36. (1) Where the use of electronic means of communication is...

         7. 37. Centralised purchasing activities and central purchasing bodies

         8. 38. Occasional joint procurement

         9. 39. Procurement involving contracting authorities from other member States

      3. SECTION 5 Conduct of the Procedure

         1. SUB-SECTION 5

            Preparation

            1. 40. Preliminary market consultations

            2. 41. Prior involvement of candidates or tenderers

            3. 42. Technical specifications

            4. 43. Labels

            5. 44. Test reports, certificates and other means of proof

            6. 45. Variants

            7. 46. Division of contracts into lots

            8. 47. Setting time limits

         2. SUB-SECTION 6

            Publication and transparency

            1. 48. Prior information notices

            2. 49. Contract notices

            3. 50. Contract award notices

            4. 51. Form and manner of sending notices for publication at EU level

            5. Publication at national level

            6. 52. (1) In addition to the publication of the notices refered...

            7. 53. Electronic availability of procurement documents

            8. 54. Invitations to candidates

            9. 55. Informing candidates and tenderers

         3. SUB-SECTION 7

            Choice of participants and award of contracts

            1. 56. General principles in awarding contracts etc

            2. Exclusion grounds

            3. 57. (1) Contracting authorities shall exclude an economic operator from participation...

            4. Selection criteria

            5. 58. (1) — Selection criteria may relate to— (a) suitability to pursue...

            6. European Single Procurement Document

            7. 59. (1) At the time of submission of requests to participate...

            8. Means of proof

            9. 60. (1) —Contracting authorities may require the certificates, statements and other...

            10. 61. Recourse to e-Certis

            11. 62. Quality assurance standards and environmental management standards

            12. 63. Reliance on the capacities of other entities

            13. 64. Recognition of official lists of approved economic operators and certification by certification bodies

            14. 65. Reduction of the number of otherwise qualified candidates to be invited to participate

            15. 66. Reduction of the number of tenders and solutions

            16. 67. Contract award criteria

            17. 68. Life-cycle costing

            18. 69. Abnormally low tenders

      4. SECTION 6 Contract Performance

         1. 70. Conditions for performance of contracts

         2. Subcontracting

         3. 71. (1) In the procurement documents, the contracting authority may ask...

         4. 72. Modification of contracts during their term

         5. 73. Termination of contracts

   3. CHAPTER 3 PARTICULAR PROCUREMENT REGIMES

      1. SECTION 7 Social and Other Specific Services

         1. 74. Award of contracts for social and other specific services

         2. 75. Publication of notices

         3. 76. Principles of awarding contracts

         4. 77. Reserved contracts for certain services

      2. SECTION 8 Rules Governing Design Contests

         1. 78. Scope of Section 8

         2. 79. Notices

         3. 80. Rules on the organisation of design contests and the selection of participants

         4. 81. Composition of the jury

         5. 82. Decisions of the jury

   4. CHAPTER 4 RECORDS AND REPORTS

      1. 83. Retention of contract copies

      2. Reporting and documentation requirements

      3. 84. (1) For every contract or framework agreement covered by this...

4. PART 3 REMEDIES

   1. CHAPTER 5 FACILITATION OF REMEDIES

      1. 85. Scope of Chapter 5

      2. 86. Notices of decisions to award a contract or conclude a framework agreement

      3. 87. Standstill period

   2. CHAPTER 6 APPLICATIONS TO THE COURT

      1. 88. Interpretation of Chapter 6

      2. 89. Duty owed to economic operators from EEA states

      3. 90. Duty owed to economic operators from certain other states

      4. 91. Enforcement of duties through the Court

      5. 92. General time limits for starting proceedings

      6. 93. Special time limits for seeking a declaration of ineffectiveness

      7. 94. Starting proceedings

      8. 95. Contract-making suspended by challenge to award decision

      9. 96. Interim orders

      10. 97. Remedies where the contract has not been entered into

      11. 98. Remedies where the contract has been entered into

      12. 99. Grounds for ineffectiveness

      13. 100. General interest grounds for not making a declaration of ineffectiveness

      14. 101. The consequences of ineffectiveness

      15. 102. Penalties in addition to, or instead of, ineffectiveness

      16. 103. Ineffectiveness etc. in relation to specific contracts based on a framework agreement

      17. 104. Injunctions against the Crown

5. PART 4 MISCELLANEOUS OBLIGATIONS

   1. CHAPTER 7 ADDITIONAL RULES FOR PART 2 PROCUREMENTS

      1. 105. Scope of Chapter 7

      2. 106. Publication of information on Contracts Finder where contract notices are used

      3. 107. Qualitative selection

      4. 108. Publication of information on Contracts Finder about contracts awarded

   2. CHAPTER 8 BELOW-THRESHOLD PROCUREMENTS

      1. 109. Scope of Chapter 8

      2. 110. Publication of contract opportunities on Contracts Finder

      3. 111. Assessing suitability etc

      4. 112. Publication of information on Contracts Finder about contracts awarded

   3. CHAPTER 9 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

      1. 113. Payment of undisputed invoices within 30 days by contracting authorities, contractors and subcontractors

      2. 114. General provisions applicable to Part 4

6. PART 5 REVOCATIONS, CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS, SAVINGS AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

   1. 115. Interpretation of Part 6

   2. 116. Revocation and amendments

   3. 117. General saving in respect of certain concession contracts

   4. 118. General transitional provision and saving where procurement procedure commenced before 26th February 2015

   5. 119. Transitional provision and saving where utilities procurement procedure commenced before 26th February 2015

   6. 120. Temporary exemption and saving for certain NHS procurements

   7. 121. Transitory provision prior to full commencement of regulation 22(1) to (7)

   8. 122. Complying with regulation 113 before 1st April 2016

7. Signature

8. 1. SCHEDULE 1

      CENTRAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES

   2. SCHEDULE 2

      ACTIVITIES CONSTITUTING WORKS

      1. In this Schedule, ‘NACE Rev.1’ has the same meaning as...

   3. SCHEDULE 3

      SOCIAL AND OTHER SPECIFIC SERVICES

   4. SCHEDULE 4

      LIST OF PRODUCTS RELEVANT TO THRESHOLDS

      1. The products covered by this Schedule are those specified in...

   5. SCHEDULE 5

      PROFESSIONAL AND TRADE REGISTERS ETC.

      1. The registers and other requests referred to in regulation 58(5)...

   6. SCHEDULE 6

      CONSEQUENTIAL AND MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS

      1. PART 1 Consequential amendments to Acts of Parliament

         1. 1. Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998

         2. 2. Greater London Authority Act 1999

         3. 3. (1) Section 355 (duties of waste collection authorities etc.) is...

         4. 4. (1) Section 356 (directions by the Mayor) is amended as...

         5. 5. (1) Section 358 (information about new waste contracts) is amended...

         6. 6. In section 359 (confidential information about waste contracts) in subsection...

         7. 7. (1) Section 360 (interpretation) is amended as follows.

         8. 8. Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012

         9. 9. Health and Social Care Act 2012

      2. PART 2 Consequential and miscellaneous amendments to other legislation

         1. 10. Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975

         2. 11. Civil Procedure Rules 1998

         3. 12. Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003

         4. 13. Schools Forums (Wales) Regulations 2003

         5. 14. Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (Wales) Regulations 2004

         6. 15. Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006

         7. 16. Provision of Services Regulations 2009

         8. 17. Quality Contracts Schemes (Tendering Requirements) (England) Regulations 2009

         9. 18. Cleaner Road Transport Vehicle Regulations 2011

         10. 19. Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011

         11. 20. Schools Forums (England) Regulations 2012

         12. 21. National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No. 2) Regulations 2013

         13. 22. Water Industry (Specified Infrastructure Projects) (English Undertakers) Regulations 2013

         14. 23. In regulation 6(2)— (a) in sub-paragraph (a) for “the Public...

         15. 24. In regulation 8(3)(a) for “the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 or...

         16. 25. The provisions of the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006 applied by...

         17. 26. Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme Regulations 2014

         18. 27. Tax Relief for Social Investments (Accreditation of Social Impact Contractor) Regulations 2014

9. Explanatory Note