Updated: Added information on the consultation.
The 2014 EU Procurement Directives have been adopted by the EU institutions and were published in the Official Journal of the EU on 28 March 2014. They came into force on 17 April 2014. EU member states now have 2 years to implement them in national legislation.
The government is aiming to transpose (implement) these directives quickly so that the UK can benefit as soon as possible from the improved flexibilities they offer. Here we will keep you up to date on progress in Brussels, UK transposition of the directives and where to access free training.
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)
Progress in Brussels
The EU process is complete. The government has welcomed the approval of the European Parliament: read EU to open up public procurement following UK government lobbying.
Implementing the directives
Member States must transpose most of the provisions in the new directives in their national implementing regulations. The directives also allow a limited number of policy choices: we published a series of discussion papers in 2013 to inform stakeholders about our final proposals. For more information see Procurement Policy Note 05/13.
We are consulting on draft Public Contracts Regulations 2015 that implement the directives. Read the consultation and draft regulations and respond by 17 October 2014.
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 will introduce new legislation.
Training
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 (and you haven’t already had training or signed up for the EU Directives Newsletter bulletins) 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.