(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations make substantive amendments to the Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024 (“the 2024 Regulations”) to enable the implementation of the Procurement Act 2023 (“the 2023 Act”).
The purpose of the 2023 Act is to reform the United Kingdom’s public procurement regime following its exit from the European Union (“EU”), by creating a simpler and more transparent system, no longer based on transposed EU Directives. The 2024 Regulations supplement the 2023 Act.
Regulation 3 makes several amendments to the 2024 Regulations. Paragraph (3) removes the definition of “utility” from regulation 4 and paragraph (2) inserts it into regulation 3 instead, to enable the definition to apply to the whole Regulations. Paragraph (4) inserts new regulations 45E and 45F into the 2024 Regulations to set out how a calculation of the percentage of activities carried out by a person is to be made, in relation to vertical and horizontal arrangements.
The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from The Commercial and Procurement Directorate, Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ.