From December, a new type of contract announcement will be a published, called a Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency (VEAT) notice. A public body may use this when they have awarded a contract using the Negotiated Procedure (without prior advertising), Part B services or service concessions, and therefore have not published a contract notice in the OJEU. The content of a VEAT notice will include full details of the awarding authority, justification for awarding the contract without prior publication in the OJEU, and the details of the successful supplier.
What does this mean?
Firstly, it shows greater transparency, notifying the market place that a supplier has been appointed for an opportunity which may not have been advertised in the OJEU. As such, it could provide key market intelligence which you could follow up as a possible sub-contract opportunity. Secondly, it affords you the right to contact the awarding authority and raise an objection regarding the announcement, should you believe that a competitive process could have been run and that you could have been capable of fulfilling the contract.
Remedies Directive
This change is part of the Public Contracts (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/2992) which have been created to implement the new EU Remedies Directive (Council Directive 2007/66/EC). The new rules take effect on 20 December 2009, but will only affect new procurement processes which start on or after that date. Procurement processes which began (either through advertising the contract or through less formal means) before that date will still be subject to the 2006 rules on standstill and enforcement.
If you would like to learn more, why not attend BiP Solution’s Masterclass – EU Remedies Roadshow on 9 December at Marriot Maida Vale, London.
This seminar is designed to review and explain the forthcoming changes that will impact on public bodies following the adoption of the new Public Procurement Remedies Directive this autumn.
For further information on this or other EU Remedies Roadshows, please visit: http://www.bipsolutions.com/events/events_list.htm
