UK pledges to fight corruption in post-Brexit overhaul of procurement rules

LONDON — Companies with a track record of poor delivery, fraud or corruption will be blocked from winning U.K. public contracts, the government announced as part of its post-Brexit reform of procurement rules.

With this change the U.K. will depart from current rules, which were set by the EU and only allow the government to ban companies from bidding for new public work if there has been a significant breach of contract.

The new rules, detailed in a consultation response published Monday, aim to reduce bureaucracy for businesses bidding for public contracts, place greater emphasis on social value so contracts don’t always go to the lowest bidder, and exclude unreliable firms.

“Leaving the EU gives us the perfect chance to make our own rules for how the government’s purchasing power can be used to promote strong values,” said Cabinet Office Minister Steve Barclay.

As part of its simplification drive, the government plans to create a single central platform where suppliers can register their data once in order to qualify for any public procurement process, and to set out the new rules “in much simpler and clearer language than the EU terminology” used in the current rules, it said.

The reform also seeks to address a lack of transparency around contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) handed out during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purchasing of emergency goods will now be carried out through a competitive process, rather than exclusively relying on direct awards as happened during the early months of the pandemic, the government said.

Ministers also committed to publishing procurement data and promised to “make procurement more transparent and effective during times of crisis, where government needs to act quickly to ensure vital goods and services are bought.”

A new unit in the Cabinet Office will oversee public procurement with powers to intervene to improve companies’ compliance with the rules if necessary.

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