The Public Procurement (Amendments, Repeals and Revocations) Regulations 2016

Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Public Procurement (Amendments, Repeals and Revocations) Regulations 2016 and come into force on 18th April 2016.

(2) The amendments, repeals and revocations made by these Regulations have the same extent as the provisions to which they relate.

Amendments to Acts of Parliament

2.  Schedule 1 (which contains amendments to Acts of Parliament) has effect.

Amendments to statutory instruments

3.  Schedule 2 (which contains amendments to statutory instruments) has effect.

Repeals and revocations

4.  Schedule 3 (which contains repeals and revocations) has effect.

Transitional provisions

5.—(1) Nothing in these Regulations affects any contract award procedure or design contest commenced before 18th April 2016.

(2) For that purpose, a contract award procedure or design contest has been commenced before 18th April 2016 if, before that date—

(a) a contract notice has been sent to the Official Journal in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015(1) in order to invite offers or requests to be selected to tender for, or to negotiate in respect of, a proposed public contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system;

(b) the contracting authority has had published any form of advertisement seeking offers or expressions of interest in a proposed public contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system;

(c) the contracting authority has contacted any economic operator in order to—

(i) seek expressions of interest or offers in respect of a proposed public contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system; or

(ii) respond to an unsolicited expression of interest or offer received from that economic operator in relation to a proposed public contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system; or

(d) a contest notice has been sent to the Official Journal in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 for the purpose of regulation 79 of those Regulations.

(3) Nothing in these Regulations affects the award of a specific contract based on a framework agreement where the framework agreement was concluded—

(a) before 18th April 2016; or

(b) on or after that date following a contract award procedure which, by virtue of paragraph (1), was not affected by these Regulations.

(4) Nothing in these Regulations affects the award of a specific contract under a dynamic purchasing system where the system was established—

(a) before 18th April 2016; or

(b) on or after that date following a contract award procedure which, by virtue of paragraph (1), was not affected by these Regulations.

(5) Nothing in these Regulations affects a contract awarded—

(a) before 18th April 2016; or

(b) on or after that date but where the award itself was not, by virtue of paragraphs (1) to (4), affected by these Regulations.

(6) In this regulation, “contracting authority”, “design contests”, “dynamic purchasing system”, “economic operator”, “framework agreement”, “Official Journal” and “public contract” have the same meanings as in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

(7) In so far as this regulation relates to contracts affected by the amendments and modifications made by paragraphs 48 to 50 of Schedule 2—

(a) the reference in regulation 5(2)(a) to the “Public Contracts Regulations 2015” is a reference to the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006(2);

(b) the references in regulation 5(2)(b) and (c) to the “contracting authority” are references to a “licenced infrastructure provider” or an “incumbent undertaker” (as the case may be) within the meaning of the Water Industry (Specified Infrastructure Projects) (English Undertakers) Regulations 2013(3);

(c) the references in regulation 5(2) to a “proposed public contract” are references to a “proposed contract”.

Matthew Hancock

Minister for the Cabinet Office

11th March 2016