This seminar is designed to review and explain the changes that will impact on public bodies following the adoption of the new public procurement Remedies Directive.
It is now more important than ever to ensure that your organisation understands the dangers of getting it wrong, how a challenge happens and the likely implications of a challenge.
This seminar will include examples of the penalties others have encountered.
The event also considers the implications of challenge and how this is applied. The consequences of failing to comply with the UK or Scottish Regulations are now potentially far more serious, with the courts, in extreme cases, having the power to set aside contracts.
EU law on public procurement is specifically designed to increase competition and transparency in order to create opportunities for all EU businesses, deliver better value and provide higher quality services. In turn, this helps to build confidence that tendering procedures are fair.
The EU Remedies Directive, which became law on 20 December 2009, will require public sector procurement to be conducted to even more stringent standards.
The Directive seeks to combat Illegal Direct Awards of public contracts – the most serious infringement of EU procurement law. National courts will also be able to render these contracts ineffective if they have been illegally awarded without any transparency and prior competitive tendering.
Clear and effective procedures for seeking redress – where bidders consider contracts have been unfairly awarded – are crucial to making sure contracts are awarded to the company which has made the best offer.
This one-day event will look at the various provisions brought into effect by the new EU Remedies Directive. Topics covered will include:
- Changes to the Standstill (Alcatel) period
- The new remedy of ‘ineffectiveness’
- A clear explanation of the areas identified as Illegal Direct Awards
- The need for transparency in all procurement
- Identifying how your procurement can be challenged
- Reviewing the new Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency (VEAT) notice and identifying when it applies
- Identifying relevant and current legal cases which highlight the possible consequences of breaches of the new rules
Dates
Testimonials
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“Eddie is an excellent presenter who clearly knows his stuff and I enjoy any event I attend where he is speaking.”
Marian Brown, Scottish Natural Heritage -
“The course was excellent, content was very relevant, interesting and very well delivered. One of the best courses I have attended.”
Doreen Keeley, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service -
“Very good, a difficult subject to address but was done so effectively”
Lynne Beedle, RDash MH NHS Foundation Trust -
“I thought the practical element of the presentation made it very interesting for procurement officers. I enjoyed the presentation more than previous similar events, I though the both the practical and legal elements gave me some interesting and positive”
Bill Carr, Newport City Council -
“Excellent presentation with the correct amount of information required. Compared to competitors courses found it very informative and the presentation was given in a way which made the topic interesting.”
Joanne James, Newport City Council -
“Very interesting and thought provoking”
Paul Lynch, Aneurin Bevan Health Board -
“Very good level of detail and presentation”
George Amery, London Borough of Southwark
