Legal Blog

Automatic suspension lifted

Written on 31 May, 2011 at 16:47 in Legal, Legal Blog | viewed 346 views times | No Comments

By Ruth McNaught, Solicitor, Harper Macleod LLP In April, the court lifted an automatic suspension imposed under Regulation 47G of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (the “Regulations”), finding that, if the suspension remained in place, the resultant “prejudice” that the... (Continue reading)

Incorrect assessment and application of award criteria

Written on 24 May, 2011 at 13:09 in Legal, Legal Blog | viewed 399 views times | No Comments

By Daradjeet Jagpal, Solicitor, Harper Macleod LLP In Harry Yearsley v The Secretary of State for Justice, the High Court considered if inconsistencies between the assessment and application of award criteria and weightings as outlined in the ITT, and how... (Continue reading)

Tagged with: bidder eAuction Harper Macleod LLP High Court Invitation to Tender ITT Legal Ministry of Justice MOJ PQQ Prequalification Questionnaire procurement law public procurement public sector Tendering

Electronic tendering mishaps

Written on 16 May, 2011 at 8:30 in Legal, Legal Blog | viewed 1,021 views times | 1 Comment

By Ruth McNaught, Solicitor, Harper Macleod LLP It has been reported that two legal aid firms have been unsuccessful in tendering for key legal work owing to an IT error occurring during the tender process – R (on the application... (Continue reading)

Tagged with: Blog Legal Procurement public procurement public sector Ruth McNaught Tender

Public Procurement in the Affordable Housing Sector

Written on 9 May, 2011 at 15:29 in Legal Blog | viewed 477 views times | No Comments

By Daradjeet Jagpal, Solicitor at Harper Macleod LLP A recent study of the use of public procurement within the affordable housing sector in Scotland, commissioned by the Scottish Government, has found that there are varied levels of procurement maturity, awareness... (Continue reading)

Tagged with: Budget Efficiency savings Harper Macleod LLP housing associations housing sector Legal procurement law public procurement public sector public sector contracts public sector suppliers Scottish Government Scottish Government’s Procurement Reform Programme

Keep the principles in mind

Written on 27 Apr, 2011 at 12:15 in Legal, Legal Blog | viewed 330 views times | No Comments

By Ruth McNaught, Solicitor, Harper Macleod LLP The Court of Appeal in England and Wales has upheld a decision of the High Court to dismiss a claim against a contracting authority on the basis that there were “no reasonable grounds... (Continue reading)

Tagged with: Countryliner Court of Appeal Government spending Harper Macleod LLP Invitation to Tender Law Legal procurement law public sector public tenders Surrey County Council Tendering Transparency

Bribery Act 2010 and its effect on procurement

Written on 20 Apr, 2011 at 9:38 in Legal, Legal Blog | viewed 572 views times | No Comments

By Ruth McNaught, Solicitor, Harper Macleod LLP The UK Government has released a guidance paper about the procedures that commercial organisations can put in place to reduce their exposure to bribery and to improve understanding of the mechanics of the... (Continue reading)

Tagged with: Bribery Harper Macleod LLP Law Legal Local authorities Procurement Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 public procurement

Price and quality criteria: ensuring transparency and equality

Written on 11 Apr, 2011 at 11:17 in Legal, Legal Blog | viewed 1,323 views times | No Comments

By Daradjeet Jagpal, Solicitor, Harper Macleod LLP A recent decision of the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland has again highlighted the need for contracting authorities to act transparently when disclosing evaluation criteria to bidders. In the case of... (Continue reading)

Tagged with: Bid Central Government contract Equality European Commission Evalution criteria Harper Macleod High Court of Justice Law Legal Legislation Northern Ireland Procurement public sector buyers public sector suppliers Public services Transparency UK public procurement

Between a rock and a hard place: balancing tender debriefs with confidentiality

Written on 5 Apr, 2011 at 12:24 in Legal, Legal Blog | viewed 407 views times | No Comments

By Ruth McNaught, Solicitor, Harper Macleod LLP At the end of a procurement exercise, contracting authorities can often feel they are stuck between a rock and a hard place: they need to provide a proper debriefing to unsuccessful bidders at... (Continue reading)

Tagged with: bidders Harper Macleod Health Legal Procurement public sector Tender

New procurement laws on the distant horizon?

Written on 28 Mar, 2011 at 15:49 in Legal, Legal Blog | viewed 541 views times | 2 Comments

By Daradjeet Jagpal, Solicitor, Harper Macleod LLP The European Commission is considering undertaking a fundamental re-working of public procurement law in the EU with the aim of making processes more transparent, encouraging increased participation from smaller companies, and... (Continue reading)

Tagged with: European Commission Green Paper Law Procurement public procurement news public sector SMEs Transparency

European Commission challenges France on procurement

Written on 21 Mar, 2011 at 12:49 in Legal, Legal Blog | viewed 315 views times | No Comments

By Ruth McNaught, Solicitor, Harper Macleod LLP Readers will be aware that the procurement risk profile for contracting authorities continues to intensify as a result of current economic conditions, which have made the market more competitive and resulted in closer... (Continue reading)

Tagged with: European Commission European Court of Justice France Harper Macleod Infringement