New EU Procurement Laws

Procurement laws, or rather the poor application of them, can make a major difference in the ability of the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) to win and keep contracts. There has been continual criticism of the level of bureaucracy and inflexibility in EU procurement laws and as a result new laws are to be announced soon. They will then have to be transposed into English Law before they come into effect. The Cabinet Office has issues a Procurement Policy Note, Annex A explains the fairly radical changes proposed including: only the winning bidder having to provide critical documents: the removal of the distinction between Part A and Part B but a light touch on health and welfare services procurement; the ability to reserve the award of certain services contracts to mutuals/social enterprises for a time limited period:the introduction of an "innovation partnership". They seem to add up to a real opportunity to shake up procurement. Rachel Rhodes from NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action) in her blog, is asking for ideas to submit to the government on what they should put in the new legislation.