The Utilities Contracts (Amendment) Regulations 2009

Amendment of the principal Regulations

9.  In regulation 33—

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

“Award decision notice

(1) Subject to paragraph (13), a utility shall, as soon as possible after the decision has been made, inform the tenderers and candidates of its decision to award the contract, 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 to be awarded the contract,

and anything required by paragraph (10);

(c) the name of the economic operator to be awarded the contract; and

(d) a precise statement of either—

(i) when, in accordance with regulation 33A, 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 utility will not, in conformity with regulation 33A, enter into the contract.

(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 is permitted by these Regulations to be awarded without a call for competition, the utility need not comply with paragraph (1).

(6B) Where the only tenderer is the one who is to be awarded the contract, and there are no candidates, the utility 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)—

(i) at the beginning, for “Except for a request made in accordance with paragraph (4) which shall be dealt with in accordance with paragraphs (4) to (5)” substitute “Except to the extent that the utility has already informed the economic operator (whether by notice under paragraph (1) or otherwise),”; and

(ii) in sub-paragraph (b), omit paragraph (ii), move “or” from the end of that paragraph to the end of paragraph (i), and renumber the existing paragraph (iii) as “(ii)”;

(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)—

(i) for the words from “economic operator which” to “admitted to a dynamic purchasing system,” substitute “candidates and tenderers”; and

(ii) omit sub-paragraph (b), move “or” from the end of that sub-paragraph to the end of sub-paragraph (a), and reletter the existing paragraph (c) as “(b)”;

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

“Grounds for withholding information;”;

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

(m) after paragraph (13), insert—

“Definitions

(14) For the purposes of this regulation—

(a) “candidate” means an economic operator (other than a tenderer) which applied to be included amongst the economic operators to be selected to tender or to negotiate the contract, 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.”.