Buyers
The Directive will bring many benefits to the UK. However, there are many risks if government departments, the devolved administrations, local authorities and regulators are not ready for its implementation.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) leads on implementation in the UK and will be implementing the national UK Point of Single Contact (PSC). However, competent authorities will be required to implement a number of measures to ensure that they are able to supply accurate information for their own websites.
Authorities must also cooperate fully and effectively with their counterparts in other EU countries to ensure proper regulatory supervision of service providers operating across EU borders.
There are two principal risks for authorities which are not compliant by the deadline of 28 December 2009:
- The authority will technically be in infraction of the Directive, and may be singled out as non-compliant when the peer review takes place.
- The authority may face action by a service provider for not processing applications as legitimately expected.
What do I have to do?
- Screening: You should check any rules and requirements that restrict the access to, or exercise of, a service activity, to ensure that these comply with the Directive’s criteria.
- Tacit authorisation: Competent authorities must provide the following information: time period within which the authorisation should be granted; and whether tacit authorisation is applicable.
- Fees charged to service providers: Competent authorities must set fees that are proportionate to the effective cost of the procedure dealt with.
- Point of Single Contact (PSC): Competent authorities’ websites must support deep links for business information so that when users select the regime on a national site, they are taken to the pertinent page.
Competent authorities must also supply their own detailed content which must cover:
- How someone applies for a permit or licence
- Relevant contact details
- How public registers and databases on providers and services can be accessed
- Means of redress in the event of a dispute
- Administrative cooperation: Competent authorities must cooperate fully and effectively with their counterparts in other EU countries.
- IMI System: Competent authorities are obliged to cooperate with their counterparts in other EU countries using the Internal Market Information (IMI) System – any request sent via IMI must be responded to via IMI.
- Quality of Services: In addition to these measures on business are others specifically relevant to competent authorities and where you may need to take action to comply with Directive’s requirements
Who should attend?
Licensing Manager
Licensing Officer
Commercial Director
Head of Procurement
Procurement Manager
Responsible Procurement Officer
Head of Procurement Best Practice
Supplier Relationship Manager – Development
Head of Supplies and Services
Corporate and Democratic Services Assistant
What are the exclusions?
The Directive does not apply to: non-economic services of general interest; financial services; electronic communications services and networks; transport services; temporary work agencies; health care services whether they are public or private; audiovisual services; gambling; activities connected with the exercise of official authority; social services; private security services; or services provided by notaries and bailiffs.