The Cabinet Office recently published a second Procurement Policy Note (PPN) which applies to all contracting authorities.
In the UK, the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 set out the rules to be followed by contracting authorities when conducting tenders. These rules apply to “contracting authorities”, which are usually public sector bodies such as local authorities, NHS Trusts, and central government departments.
A charity, however, can also fall within the wide definition of “contracting authorities”, in certain circumstances. Charities that receive substantial funding (that is, more than 50 per cent of their funding) from government, local authorities or NHS Trusts, or have more than half of their trustee board appointed by such bodies, are most likely to find themselves subject to the procurement rules.
The PPN will be in effect until June 2020, when it will be reviewed, and contains a number of immediate actions for all contracting authorities to take. For more information, and a consideration of particular points arising from the PPN, head over to our Procurement Portal.
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