The UK’s new post-Brexit Public Procurement Bill - is it transformative?
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At this session the Oxford Procurement of Government Outcomes Club (Oxford POGO Club) will consider the UK government’s new [Public] Procurement Bill and whether it looks likely to deliver promised transformations.
The Procurement of Government Outcomes (POGO) Club is a knowledge sharing initiative that is open to anyone interested in capacity building in public procurement and in collaboration to improve social outcomes. We host monthly calls, maintain a mailing list, and share other resources. Participants come from many different disciplines, sectors, and countries. Our chair is Anne Davies, Professor of Law and Public Policy.
Aims of our group
- Helping public sector leaders understand how public procurement may be used to improve social outcomes through collaboration with the private and community / voluntary sectors.
- Encouraging better alignment of procurement plans with the mission, strategy, and budget of a program, agency or government.
- Developing the capacity of procurement practitioners to collaborate and procure social outcomes as part of the professionalisation of public procurement.
Interested? Join the mailing list by emailing Ruairi Macdonald. Find us on LinkedIn here.
Session recording
Listen to the audio recording of the session.
Session overview
On 31 May, 2022, at 4pm (UK), the Oxford Procurement of Government Outcomes Club (Oxford POGO Club) will consider the UK government’s new [Public] Procurement Bill and whether it looks likely to deliver promised transformations. The Oxford POGO Club session will be chaired by Professor Anne Davies, co-chaired by Michael Bowsher QC and will include an expert panel. This is an online event and all are welcome.
The Procurement Bill recently landed in Parliament – the first reading, a formality, took place in the House of Lords on 11 May. The second reading, alongwith debate, is scheduled for 25 May. This bill follows a consultation process titled, ‘Transforming Public Procurement’ and the launch of a National Procurement Policy Statement.
The recent Queen’s Speech, delivered to Parliament by the Prince of Wales on 10 May 2022, promised that, ‘Public sector procurement will be simplified to provide new opportunities for small businesses.’ The Prime Minister’s introduction to the speech also promised, ‘Our public procurement regime will be made more simple, transparent and accessible to better meet the country’s needs. This will bring a huge boost to businesses and voluntary, charitable and social enterprises, who will be able to compete for public contracts.’
The Cabinet Office’s notes accompanying the Procurement Bill explains, ‘The purpose of the Procurement Bill is to reform the United Kingdom’s public procurement regime following its exit from the European Union (EU), to create a simpler and more transparent system not based on transposed EU Directives.’
Regular Oxford POGOers will recall that our January session addressed the UK government’s response to the ‘Transforming Public Procurement, consultation and our April session looked at ways to engage VCSEs and small businesses in public procurement. Recordings of these sessions are on the Oxford POGO Club webpage.
Expert Panel
- Julian Blake, Partner, Stone King
- Kate Gough (née Creelman), Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
- Malcolm Harbour CBE, Former MEP and Associate, Connected Places Catapult
- Kieran McGaughey, Director & National Lead for Procurement Law, Lawyers in Local Government
- Caroline Nicholas, Senior Legal Officer, International Trade Law Division, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
- Kristen Robinson, Head of Advocacy, Open Contracting Partnership
- Albert Sanchez Graells, Professor of Economic Law, University of Bristol Law School
See panel member (speaker) bios here.
Agenda
- Welcome, from Anne and Michael
- Part 1. Expert Panel Comments ( < 35 minutes)
- Part 2. Collecting Audience Questions ( ≈ 5 minutes)
- Part 3. Panel Rapid Responses To Selected Questions or Comments (< 15 minutes)
- Close by Michael and Anne
Background resourcesProcurement Bill Second Reading and Debate held on 25 May, 2022, Video and Transcript
- Procurement Bill as introduced on 11 May, 2022, Procurement Bill (2022) House of Lords Bill 4.
- UK Government (May 2022), Procurement Bill Explanatory Notes
- UK Government (December 2021), Transforming Public Procurement - Government response to consultation
- UK Government (June 2021), National Procurement Policy Statement
- Local Government Association (2022), [Briefing with comments re] Procurement Bill, Second Reading, House of Lords, 23 May 2022
- Catapult Connected Places (2022), Procurement Bill 2022 - Initial Assessment
- UK AntiCorruption Coalition (2022), Our ten point improvement plan for the 2022 UK Procurement Bill
- Albert Sanchez-Graells (2022), Initial comments on the UK’s Procurement Bill: A lukewarm assessment
- King’s College, London / GW Law Symposium: Anti-Corruption and the New UK Procurement Rules
- Oxford POGO Club (2021), Response to Green Paper on Transforming Public Procurement
- Open Contracting Partnership (2021), Response to Cabinet Office Dec 2020 Green Paper on Transforming Public Procurement
- Lawyers in Local Government (2021), Response to Green Paper on Transforming Public Procurement
- Anne Davies and Ruairi Macdonald (2021), blog, Transforming public procurement
- Open Contracting Partnership (2021), blog, Progress on UK procurement reform: OCP’s quick take on Cabinet Office’s consultation response
- Kieran McGaughey (2021), blog, Transformation? Or transparency gone too far?