The Public Contracts Regulations 2015

CHAPTER 3 U.K. PARTICULAR PROCUREMENT REGIMES

SECTION 7 U.K. Social and Other Specific Services

Award of contracts for social and other specific services U.K.

74.  Public contracts for social and other specific services listed in Schedule 3 shall be awarded in accordance with this Section.

Publication of notices U.K.

75.—(1) Contracting authorities intending to award a public contract for the services referred to in regulation 74 shall make known their intention by any of the following means:—

(a) by means of a contract notice, which shall contain the information referred to in part H of Annex V to the Public Contracts Directive F1 ...

F1 (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply where a negotiated procedure without prior publication could have been used, in accordance with regulation 32, for the award of a public service contract.

(3) Contracting authorities that have awarded a public contract for the services referred to in regulation 74 shall make known the results of the procurement procedure by means of a contract award notice, which shall contain the information referred to in part J of Annex V to the Public Contracts Directive.

(4) Contracting authorities may group contract award notices on a quarterly basis, in which case they shall comply with paragraph (5) by [F2 submitting] the grouped notices within 30 days of the end of each quarter.

(5) Contracting authorities shall [F3 submit] the notices referred to in this regulation for publication in accordance with regulation 51.

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 75(1)(b) and word omitted (E.N.I.) (25.5.2023) by virtue of The Public Procurement (International Trade Agreements) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/484), reg. 2(23) (with regs. 1(4)(a), 5) and omitted (W.) (26.5.2023) by virtue of The Public Procurement (International Trade Agreements) (Amendment) (Wales) (No. 2) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/567), reg. 2(23) (with reg. 5)

F2 Word in reg. 75(4) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1319), regs. 1(2), 6(50)(a) (with Sch. paras. 3-5)

F3 Word in reg. 75(5) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1319), regs. 1(2), 6(50)(b) (with Sch. paras. 3-5)

Principles of awarding contracts U.K.

76.—(1) Contracting authorities shall determine the procedures that are to be applied in connection with the award of contracts subject to this Section, and may take into account the specificities of the services in question.

(2) Those procedures shall be at least sufficient to ensure compliance with the principles of transparency and equal treatment of economic operators.

(3) In particular, where, in accordance with regulation 75, a contract notice F4 ... has been published in relation to a given procurement, the contracting authority shall, except in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (4), conduct the procurement, and award any resulting contract, in conformity with the information contained in the notice about—

(a) conditions for participation,

(b) time limits for contacting the contracting authority, and

(c) the award procedure to be applied.

(4) The contracting authority may, however, conduct the procurement, and award any resulting contract, in a way which is not in conformity with that information, but only if all the following conditions are met:—

(a) the failure to conform does not, in the particular circumstances, amount to a breach of the principles of transparency and equal treatment of economic operators;

(b) the contracting authority has, before proceeding in reliance on sub-paragraph (a)—

(i) given due consideration to the matter,

(ii) concluded that sub-paragraph (a) is applicable,

(iii) documented that conclusion and the reasons for it in accordance with regulation 84(7) and (8), and

(iv) informed the participants of the respects in which the contracting authority intends to proceed in a way which is not in conformity with the information contained in the notice.

(5) In paragraph (4)(b)(iv), “participants” means any economic operators which have responded to the notice and have not been informed by the contracting authority that they are no longer under consideration for the award of a contract within the scope of the procurement concerned.

(6) All time limits imposed on economic operators for the purposes of this regulation, whether for responding to a contract notice or taking any other steps in the relevant procedure, shall be reasonable and proportionate.

(7) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), and subject to the other requirements of this Chapter, contracting authorities may apply procedures for the purposes of this regulation which correspond (with or without variations) to procedures, techniques or other features provided for in Chapter 2, as well as procedures which do not.

(8) In relation to the award of contracts subject to this Section, contracting authorities may take into account any relevant considerations, including —

(a) the need to ensure quality, continuity, accessibility, affordability, availability and comprehensiveness of the services;

(b) the specific needs of different categories of users, including disadvantaged and vulnerable groups;

(c) the involvement and empowerment of users; and

(d) innovation.

Textual Amendments

F4 Words in reg. 76(3) omitted (E.N.I.) (25.5.2023) by virtue of The Public Procurement (International Trade Agreements) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/484), regs. 1(2), 2(24) (with regs. 1(4)(a), 5) and omitted (W.) (26.5.2023) by virtue of The Public Procurement (International Trade Agreements) (Amendment) (Wales) (No. 2) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/567), regs. 1(2), 2(24) (with reg. 5)

Reserved contracts for certain services U.K.

77.—(1) Contracting authorities may reserve to qualifying organisations the right to participate in procedures for the award of reservable public contracts.

(2) For that purpose, a contract is a reservable public contract only if it is exclusively for one or more of the services which are covered by CPV codes 75121000-0, 75122000-7, 75123000-4, 79622000-0, 79624000-4, 79625000-1, 80110000-8, 80300000-7, 80420000-4, 80430000-7, 80511000-9, 80520000-5, 80590000-6, from 85000000-9 to 85323000-9, 92500000-6, 92600000-7, 98133000-4, and 98133110-8.

(3) In this regulation, “qualifying organisation” means an organisation which fulfils all of the following conditions:—

(a) its objective is the pursuit of a public service mission linked to the delivery of services referred to in paragraph (2);

(b) profits are reinvested with a view to achieving the organisation's objective, and any distribution of profits is based on participatory considerations;

(c) the structures of management or ownership of the organisation are (or will be, if and when it performs the contract) —

(i) based on employee ownership or participatory principles, or

(ii) require the active participation of employees, users or stakeholders; and

(d) the organisation has not been awarded, pursuant to this regulation, a contract for the services concerned by the contracting authority concerned within the past 3 years.

(4) The maximum duration of a contract awarded under this regulation shall not be longer than 3 years.

(5) Where a contracting authority exercises the power of reservation conferred by paragraph (1), the call for competition shall make reference to [F5 this regulation].

F6 (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F5 Words in reg. 77(5) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1319), regs. 1(2), 6(51) (with Sch. paras. 3-5)

F6 Reg. 77(6) omitted (E.) (1.1.2024) by virtue of The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1348), regs. 1(1), 28(a) (with regs. 2, 3, 29)

SECTION 8 U.K. Rules Governing Design Contests

Scope of Section 8 U.K.

78.—(1) This Section applies to—

(a) design contests organised as part of a procedure leading to the award of a public service contract;

(b) design contests with prizes or payments to participants.

(2) In the cases referred to in paragraph (1)(a), the threshold mentioned in regulation 5 shall be calculated on the basis of the estimated value [F7 inclusive] of VAT of the public service contract, including any possible prizes or payments to participants.

(3) In the cases referred to in paragraph (1)(b), the threshold mentioned in regulation 5 shall be calculated on the basis of the total amount of the prizes and payments, including the estimated value [F8 inclusive] of VAT of the public services contract which might subsequently be concluded following a negotiated procedure without prior publication in accordance with regulation 32(7) and (8) if the contracting authority has announced its intention to award such a contract in the contest notice.

Textual Amendments

F7 Word in reg. 78(2) substituted (1.1.2022) by The Public Procurement (Agreement on Government Procurement) (Thresholds) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/1221), regs. 1(1), 3(3)(d)(i) (with reg. 7)

F8 Word in reg. 78(3) substituted (1.1.2022) by The Public Procurement (Agreement on Government Procurement) (Thresholds) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/1221), regs. 1(1), 3(3)(d)(ii) (with reg. 7)

Notices U.K.

79.—(1) Contracting authorities that intend to carry out a design contest shall make known their intention by means of a contest notice.

(2) Contest notices shall—

(a) include the information set out in part E of Annex V to the Public Contracts Directive[F9 , but as if—

(i) in paragraph 2, “the second and third subparagraphs of Article 53(1)” were a reference to regulation 53(3) and (4) of these Regulations;

(ii) in paragraph 16, “date of dispatch” were a reference to the date on which the notice is submitted to the UK e-notification service for the purposes of these Regulations]; and

(b) be [F10 submitted] for publication in accordance with regulation 51.

(3) Contracting authorities that have held a design contest shall [F11 submit] for publication in accordance with regulation 51 a notice of the results of the contest, and must be able to prove the date [F12 on which the notice was submitted to the UK e-notification service].

(4) A notice of the results of the contest shall include the information set out in part F of Annex V to the Public Contracts Directive[F13 , but as if—

(a) paragraph 12 (financing by EU funds) were omitted;

(b) in paragraph 13, “in the Official Journal of the European Union” read “on the UK e-notification service (within the meaning of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015)”; and

(c) in paragraph 14, “date of dispatch” were a reference to the date on which the notice is submitted to the UK e-notification service for the purposes of these Regulations].

(5) But where the release of information on the outcome of the contest—

(a) would impede law enforcement or would otherwise be contrary to the public interest,

(b) would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of a particular enterprise, whether public or private, or

(c) might prejudice fair competition between service providers,

such information may be withheld from publication.

Textual Amendments

F9 Words in reg. 79(2)(a) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1319), regs. 1(2), 6(52)(a)(i) (with Sch. paras. 3-5)

F10 Word in reg. 79(2)(b) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1319), regs. 1(2), 6(52)(a)(ii) (with Sch. paras. 3-5)

F11 Word in reg. 79(3) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1319), regs. 1(2), 6(52)(b)(i) (with Sch. paras. 3-5)

F12 Words in reg. 79(3) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1319), regs. 1(2), 6(52)(b)(ii) (with Sch. paras. 3-5)

F13 Words in reg. 79(4) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1319), regs. 1(2), 6(52)(c) (with Sch. paras. 3-5)

Rules on the organisation of design contests and the selection of participants U.K.

80.—(1) When organising design contests, contracting authorities shall apply procedures which are adapted to the provisions of Chapter 1 and this Section.

F14 (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) Where design contests are restricted to a limited number of participants, the contracting authorities shall lay down clear and non-discriminatory selection criteria.

(4) In any event, the number of candidates invited to participate shall be sufficient to ensure genuine competition.

Textual Amendments

F14 Reg. 80(2) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1319), regs. 1(2), 6(53) (with Sch. paras. 3-5)

Composition of the jury U.K.

81.—(1) The jury shall be composed exclusively of natural persons who are independent of participants in the contest.

(2) Where a particular professional qualification is required from participants in a contest, at least a third of the members of the jury shall have that qualification or an equivalent qualification.

Decisions of the jury U.K.

82.—(1) The jury shall be autonomous in its decisions and opinions.

(2) The jury shall examine the plans and projects submitted by the candidates anonymously and solely on the basis of the criteria indicated in the contest notice.

(3) The jury shall record its ranking of projects in a report, signed by its members, made according to the merits of each project, together with its remarks and any points that may need clarification.

(4) Anonymity shall be observed until the jury has reached its opinion or decision.

(5) Candidates may be invited, if need be, to answer questions that the jury has recorded in the minutes to clarify any aspect of the projects.

(6) Complete minutes shall be drawn up of the dialogue between jury members and candidates.