Updated: Added guidance on awarding contracts, Dynamic Purchasing System and the standstill period.
The 2014 EU Procurement Directives came into force at EU level on 17 April 2014. EU member states now have 2 years to implement them in national legislation. This followed a successful lobbying campaign by the UK government and our EU partners to negotiate a simpler, more flexible regime of procurement rules.
These pages keep you updated on the UK government’s approach to implementing these directives. It includes news on transposition, details on the UK’s implementing regulations, and guidance and support resources.
The directives
- Public Sector: Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC – view the EU Procurement Directive (Public Sector)
- Concessions: Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the award of concession contracts – view the EU Procurement Directive (Concessions)
- Utilities: Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and repealing Directive 2004/17/EC – view the EU Procurement Directive (Utilities)
Implementing the directives
The government prioritised the Public Sector Directive for early implementation because it deregulates and simplifies the rules for where most procurement spend and activity takes place. The UK’s implementing regulations, the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 were laid in Parliament on 5 February 2015 and take effect from 26 February 2015.
This followed a process to engage stakeholders in policy decisions, including:
- a consultation on the draft Public Contracts Regulations 2015 that implement the directive – read the government response to the consultation
- a series of discussion papers in 2013 to inform decisions on various policy choices – see Procurement Policy Note 05/13
Details on the transposition of the utilities and concessions directives will be available on this page in due course.
Lord Young’s reforms
Lord Young’s May 2013 report, Growing Your Business recommended a number of key reforms to create a simple and consistent approach to procurement across all public sector agencies. This would support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary organisations in gaining better and more direct access to contract opportunities.
The government has accepted these reforms and they are implemented in part 4 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. which came into force on 26 February 2015. Find out more in the Procurement Policy Note: reforms to make public procurement more accessible to SMEs.
Training resources
To help raise awareness of the new EU Procurement Directives, Cabinet Office arranged more than 200 face-to-face training sessions on the main changes in the directives for people working in the public sector. Read the training materials from these sessions:
People who attended the training sessions or registered for the e-learning module will receive notifications on updates to the transposition process.
If you would like to receive updates on the transposition process, email info@ccs.gsi.gov.uk and we will add your name to the mailing list.
E-Learning
We are also developing a free e-learning resource to support continuous learning. People working in the public sector can now register for access: places are limited so reserve yours on the Crown Commercial Service Learning Hub. You will receive a notification email when the e-learning package is available.
Further guidance
In addition to the handbook covering the main rule changes, we are preparing a package of more detailed, subject-specific guides to support implementation. These will be published as they become available.
