In this episode Kay Day and Mary Mundy discuss the selection stage of the procurement procedure, including the purpose of selection questions, the importance of finance tests and the need for staff training and robust record keeping at this stage.

This episode covers what contracting authorities need to know, required documents, key tips for valuing the contract, and future-proofing the procurement/contract.

The long-awaited Health and Care Bill was published on 6 July 2021. We set out the practical impact of the upcoming changes in procurement, patient choice and competition.

The Cabinet Office has published a number of new and updated Procurement Policy Notes this month. We summarise the key messages and points of action for procurement practitioners.

We start at the beginning of the procurement lifecycle and cover pre-procurement market engagemen (AKA “soft market testing”).

The Queen’s speech last week has confirmed that it is full steam ahead with procurement reform, with the new Procurement Bill expected in September 2021. We outline the next steps in our insight.

In this update, Capsticks’ procurement specialists summarise two important procurement cases for bidders and contracting authorities from winter 2020/2021.

PPN 01/21 reiterates the PPN issued at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic setting out the procurement options available to Contracting Authorities during an emergency—further highlighting the commercial risks inherent in direct awards without competition.

The Government has issued its Green Paper on procurement reform. In this insight, we examine the proposals, whether this will be the simpler, cheaper regime promised and what procurement might look like for registered providers in the future.

The Cabinet Office has issued a new PPN setting out principles for the procurement of “below threshold” contracts following Brexit. We answer some of the most common questions around the new PPN.

A new PPN issued by the Cabinet Office provides further guidance on working in partnership with suppliers to deliver contracts during COVID-19, and also looks forward to transition planning in order to exit from relief in the period July to October.

Most procurement teams will have needed to consider abandoning a procurement process at some point and perhaps particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.