Market Update – November in Review

Since the COVID-19 crisis began, we have harnessed Tracker’s powerful database, business intelligence and data analysis services to do what BiP has done for the last 36 years – bring buyers and suppliers together.

At the height of the crisis, the company monitored and analysed data from Tracker weekly to make sure that buyers and suppliers were kept up to date with activity in the public sector, with a special focus on central and local government, defence, education and health.

In light of the continuing restrictions and the autumn lockdown, our BiP Solutions media and marketing services, Cadence Marketing, have published a monthly report, in association with DCI to help you understand what is happening in the public sector and how our data, together with powerful business intelligence solutions like DCI and Supply2Defence, can help you engage earlier and succeed in this marketplace.

Each report considers how the public sector marketplace is responding to the latest changes before focusing on one of our key sectors in greater detail. In our latest monthly review, we examine defence trends and spends. Following the Government announcement of the biggest spend in Defence since the Cold War, now is the time for suppliers to tap into this marketplace.

Key Highlights Include:

  • 7374 contract notices published – a decrease of 2.49% compared with October’s figures (though still an increase of 11.27% from September)
  • Of the 2767 contract notices that stated a value, 1016 (36.71%) were worth £100,000 or less, while
    a further 685 (24.75%) were worth £100,000-£500,000, representing continued opportunities for SMEs
  • In November, the defence sector published 271 contract notices – the highest monthly volume since before the start of the first national lockdown in March
  • Well over half of defence notices published in November were non-OJEU, making them potentially of
    interest to SMEs

You can download your complimentary copy here

Public Sector Procurement Trends Update (7th-13th Dec)

This week’s Public Sector Procurement Trends report, produced in association with Cadence Marketing, has been released.

The report provides an update on activities between the 7th and 13th December and shows that 36% of contracts were for less than £100,000 – clearly indicating a continued opportunity for SMEs throughout the public sector.

Other key highlights this week include:

  • Contract volumes have remained steady, averaging 1806 over the past four weeks
  • Published contract notice values totaled >£15Bn
  • 883 different buying authorities published contract notices this week

The report also shows the split of OJEU and non-OJEU notices across the public sector; awards published and those awarded to more than 1,300 suppliers; contract volume broken down by sector; and top buyers by contract volume.

The report can be viewed in full here

Public Sector Procurement Trends Update (30th Nov-6th Dec)

This week’s Public Sector Procurement Trends report, produced in association with Cadence Marketing, has been released.

The report provides an update on activities between 30th November and 6th December and shows that 39% of contracts were for less than £100,000 – clearly indicating a continued opportunity for SMEs throughout the public sector.

Other key highlights this week include:

  • A 12% increase in contract volumes compared to the previous week
  • Published contract notice values totaled >£10Bn
  • 940 different buying authorities published contract notices this week

The report also shows the split of OJEU and non-OJEU notices across the public sector; awards published and those awarded to more than 1,300 suppliers; contract volume broken down by sector; and top buyers by contract volume.

The report can be viewed in full here

Public Sector Procurement Trends Update (23rd-29th Nov)

This week’s Public Sector Procurement Trends report, produced in association with Cadence Marketing, has been released.

The report provides an update on activities between 23rd and 29th November and shows that 35% of contracts were for less than £100,000 – clearly indicating a continued opportunity for SMEs throughout the public sector.

Other key highlights this week include:

  • Over the past four weeks, contract notice volumes have averaged 1745 per week
  • Published contract notice values totaled >£8Bn
  • 830 different buying authorities published contract notices this week

The report also shows the split of OJEU and non-OJEU notices across the public sector; awards published and those awarded to more than 1,300 suppliers; contract volume broken down by sector; and top buyers by contract volume.

The report can be viewed in full here

Public Sector Procurement Trends Update (16th-22nd Nov)

This week’s Public Sector Procurement Trends report, produced in association with Cadence Marketing, has been released.

The report provides an update on activities between 16th and 22nd November and shows that 34% of contracts were for less than £100,000 – clearly indicating a continued opportunity for SMEs throughout the public sector.

Other key highlights this week include:

  • There has been positive growth in contract notice volumes with a 1.3% increase this week
  • Published contract notice values totaled >£22Bn
  • 889 different buying authorities published contract notices this week
  • The Top 5 awards this week totaled more than £7.93Bn

The report also shows the split of OJEU and non-OJEU notices across the public sector; awards published and those awarded to more than 1,300 suppliers; contract volume broken down by sector; and top buyers by contract volume.

The report can be viewed in full here

Public Sector Procurement Trends Update (9th-15th Nov)

This week’s Public Sector Procurement Trends report, produced in association with Cadence Marketing, has been released.

The report provides an update on activities between 9th and 15th November and shows that 37% of contracts were for less than £100,000 – clearly indicating a continued opportunity for SMEs throughout the public sector.

​​​Other key highlights this week include:

  • There has been positive growth in contract notice volumes with a 21% increase this week
  • Published contract notice values totalled >£25Bn
  • 907 different buying authorities published contract notices this week

The report also shows the split of OJEU and non-OJEU notices across the public sector; awards published and those awarded to more than 1,300 suppliers; contract volume broken down by sector; and top buyers by contract volume.

The report can be viewed in full here

October Brexit Round-Up

Globe map of UK and western Europe

With the UK still scheduled to leave the EU on 31st October, the status of negotiations within the EU parliament will be closely watched over the coming days. Today (14th October), the Queen’s Speech to open the new session of the UK Parliament is expected to outline further the Government’s plans for Brexit and the period immediately after exit day. More than three years after the referendum, there is still much to be decided and confirmed.

Ahead of an important week, the latest updates on BiP Solutions’ dedicated Brexit news and resources page cover a range of aspects of Brexit and how it might affect public procurement.

  • Our September Brexit Briefing looks at sources of opportunity for procurement after Brexit – both in the UK and further afield.
  • With the possibility of further debate around the legislation aiming to block any ‘no-deal Brexit’, it remains important for businesses to be clear on what the effects of ‘no-deal’ might be and how they can prepare. Our explainer blog from Phillip Kinnell, Senior Procurement Consultant at the Procurement Advice and Support Service (PASS), examines the legislation that specifically affects procurement in relation to a ‘no-deal Brexit.’ A more in-depth look at the various ways in which ‘no-deal’ might impact procurement, and how businesses can prepare, is available through the recording of our recent webinar led by Phillip, ‘What a No Deal Brexit Could Mean for Public Procurement.’
  • Also on 8th October, the House of Commons (HoC) Research Library published ‘Brexit and UK Defence: An Explainer.’ You can read Defence Online’s detailed blog on the latest updates around the UK’s and EU’s changing relationship in terms of defence here, while the HoC Library report and the Government’s own advice on the defence sector and preparing for Brexit are available in our Resources section.
  • Other sector-specific information available on our Resources page includes guidance for healthcare providers and the space sector. For the latest healthcare news, visit our dedicated healthcare community Health Online.
  • The list of trade agreements with other countries and trading blocs that will take effect when the UK leaves the EU continues to be updated.
  • Our factsheets, ‘Procurement After No Deal’ and ‘Procurement After Brexit: Deal or No Deal’, are still available, and cover the basics of the legislation and necessary preparations for organisations around Brexit. Produced in April and March respectively, these documents remain relevant as they outline key guidance such as the new UK e-notification service replacing the need to publish tenders in the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU) – now named the ‘Find a Tender Service’ – and the need for businesses to acquire an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number.

Our Brexit resources page will continue to be updated as the situation develops, allowing you to stay abreast of all the latest and most relevant information for public procurement and business.

Brexit latest: No Deal Brexit and Procurement Legislation

With the Government maintaining that the UK with leave the EU on 31 October, whether or not a Withdrawal Agreement has been finalised, there may appear to be much uncertainty as to the position of legislation after that date, and what immediate effect that will have on trade and other areas of business. However, in procurement as well as in other areas, there are some clear guidelines as to what a ‘no deal Brexit’ would mean for day-to-day working practices. Here, Phillip Kinnell, Senior Procurement Consultant at the Procurement Advice and Support Service (PASS), details what we know about procurement legislation in the event of ‘no deal’ – in our explainer below and in our recent webinar.

Legislative certainty in the event of a no deal Brexit

What procurement legislation applies in the event of a ‘hard’ Brexit? Section 2(1) of the European Union Withdrawal Act 2018 states that ‘EU-derived domestic legislation, as it has effect in domestic law immediately before exit day, continues to have effect in domestic law on and after exit day.’ Section 3(1) similarly confirms the incorporation of direct EU legislation by stating that ‘Direct EU legislation, so far as operative immediately before exit day, forms part of domestic law on and after exit day.’ 

However, there are some incongruities between current legislation, such as the PCR 2015, and the changed environment that we will have following a no deal Brexit. To deal with this, the European Union Withdrawal Act 2018 preserves laws made in the UK that implement EU obligations, and provides the legal basis for making necessary corrections to the current procurement legislation that would otherwise no longer operate appropriately once the UK has left. 

The following paragraphs outline the main pieces of secondary legislation which set out the updates to UK procurement legislation.  

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Public Procurement (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and the Public Procurement (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) (No 2) Regulations 2019 set out the majority of changes to current procurement legislation in the event of a hard Brexit. 

In Scotland, the Public Procurement etc (Scotland) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, the Public Procurement etc (Scotland) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Amendment Regulations 2019 and the Public Procurement etc. (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 carry out a very similar role.  

The required changes include the removal of references to the EU, the replacement of the OJEU with the ‘UK e-notification service’ (also known as the Find a Tender Service or FTS) and the right of the UK to set the procurement thresholds for the forthcoming change on 1 January 2020. 

Eight months after Brexit, the amendment regulations also remove conditions relating to the GPA (Government Procurement Agreement) and the ‘duty owed to economic operators from other member states’ as from that point the requirement to open up procurement in the UK to economic operators from other states will either not apply or will have be applied separately through a trade or other similar agreement. 

The Defence Regulations will be updated with the Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 which will bring in both pre-exit and exit-related amendments to the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011. So while it’s not possible, or advisable, to cover all the changes here, I hope that the above links will help you determine how a no deal Brexit will affect any procurements that are commenced after a no deal Brexit. 

You can here Phillip discuss this and other aspects of post-Brexit procurement in more detail through a recording of our recent webinar, ‘What a No Deal Brexit would Mean for Public Sector Procurement.’ To view the full video, click here.

Brexit Update: September 2019

Brexit has dominated the news over the past three years, and this shows no signs of abating.

The current deadline for the UK to exit the European Union (EU) is 31 October, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been categorical in his position that the UK will leave the European Union on this date – either with or without a deal.

Our latest Brexit report describes the key areas where future business opportunities will lie – should Brexit go through on 31 October.

Download your copy of this free report here.

New guidance document: Procurement after ‘no deal’

Figurines of construction workers move star on EU flag

As the political and legal situation around Brexit remains dynamic, the possibility of the UK leaving the European Union without a negotiated Withdrawal Agreement – a ‘no-deal Brexit’ – still exists. Until an alternative is legally formalised by both the UK and the remaining EU Member States, the current default position is for the UK to leave the EU without a deal.

Many businesses will have questions around the possible implications of a ‘no-deal Brexit’ and how they can prepare for this eventuality. Therefore, drawing on our 35 years of procurement experience, BiP Solutions is pleased to announce the publication of our new factsheet, ‘Procurement after “no deal”: What buyers and suppliers need to know about preparing for a “no deal Brexit” scenario.’

The seven-page document sets out clearly and simply the key questions that both buyers and suppliers are likely to have around the possibility of ‘no deal’ – and the current guidance that exists in these areas. The factsheet answers such questions as:

  • Where will public sector organisations publish tender notices if there is a ‘no deal Brexit’?
  • How might the procurement process change, and what will the effect be for supply chains?
  • Where will suppliers be able to find tender opportunities?
  • What steps will businesses need to take to continue to supply services to EU Member States?

Download your copy of the factsheet here.*

To view the latest procurement news and updates, visit BiP Solutions’ dedicated news and Brexit pages.

*Updates will follow to reflect the changing situation.

BiP Solutions Limited is a company registered in Scotland with Company Number SC086146 and VAT number 383030966 and having its registered office at Medius, 60 Pacific Quay, Glasgow, G51 1DZ.

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