The Public Contracts (Amendment) Regulations 2009

Amendment of the principal Regulations

8.  In regulation 32—

(a) For paragraphs (1) and (2) substitute—

“Award decision notice

(1) Subject to paragraph (13), a contracting authority shall, as soon as possible after the decision has been made, inform the tenderers and candidates of its decision to—

(a) award the contract; or

(b) conclude the framework agreement,

and shall do so by notice in writing by the most rapid means of communication practicable.

(2) Where it is to be sent to a tenderer, the notice referred to in paragraph (1) shall include—

(a) the criteria for the award of the contract;

(b) the reasons for the decision, including the characteristics and relative advantages of the successful tender, the score (if any) obtained by—

(i) the economic operator which is to receive the notice; and

(ii) the economic operator—

(aa) to be awarded the contract; or

(bb) to become a party to the framework agreement,

and anything required by paragraph (10);

(c) the name of the economic operator—

(i) to be awarded the contract; or

(ii) to become a party to the framework agreement; and

(d) a precise statement of either—

(i) when, in accordance with regulation 32A, the standstill period is expected to end and, if relevant, how the timing of its ending might be affected by any and, if so what, contingencies; or

(ii) the date before which the contracting authority will not, in conformity with regulation 32A, enter into the contract or conclude the framework agreement.

(2A) Where it is to be sent to a candidate, the notice referred to in paragraph (1) shall include—

(a) the reasons why the candidate was unsuccessful; and

(b) the information mentioned in paragraph (2), but as if the words “and relative advantages” were omitted from sub-paragraph (b).”;

(b) omit paragraphs (3) to (6);

(c) immediately before paragraph (7), insert—

“(6A) Where the contract or framework agreement is permitted by these Regulations to be awarded or concluded without prior publication of a contract notice, the contracting authority need not comply with paragraph (1).

(6B) Where the only tenderer is the one who is to be awarded the contract or who is to become a party to the framework agreement, and there are no candidates, the contracting authority need not comply with paragraph (1).”.

(d) in paragraph (7), after “agreement”, insert “or a dynamic purchasing system”;

(e) omit paragraph (8);

(f) immediately before paragraph (9), insert the following heading—

“Reasons to be given on request to unsuccessful economic operators;”;

(g) in paragraph (9), for the text from the beginning of the paragraph to “20(8)” substitute “Except to the extent that the contracting authority has already informed the economic operator (whether by notice under paragraph (1) or otherwise), and subject to paragraph (13), a contracting authority shall within 15 days of the date on which it receives a request in writing from any economic operator which was unsuccessful (whether in accordance with regulation 15(11), 16(7), 16(8), 17(9), 17(10), 17(22), 17(23), 18(10), 18(11), 18(22), 18(23), 19(9), 20(8), 20(14)”;

(h) in paragraph (10), for “paragraph (9)(a) substitute “paragraphs (2)(b) and (9)(a)”;

(i) immediately before paragraph (11) insert the following heading—

“Abandonment or recommencement of procedure;”;

(j) in paragraph (11), for the words from “economic operators which” to “admitted to a dynamic purchasing system,” substitute “candidates and tenderers”;

(k) immediately before paragraph (13), insert the following heading—

“Grounds for withholding information;”;

(l) in paragraph (13), omit “(4), (8),”;

(m) immediately before paragraph (14), insert the following heading—

“Records and reports; and”; and

(n) after paragraph (16), insert—

“Definitions

(17) For the purposes of this regulation—

(a) “candidate” means an economic operator (other than a tenderer) which applied—

(i) to be included amongst the economic operators to be selected to tender or to negotiate the contract; or

(ii) to be a party to the framework agreement,

but does not include any economic operator which has been informed of the rejection of its application, and the reasons for it; and

(b) “tenderer” means an economic operator which submitted an offer.”.