Have your say on EU procurement rules for the public sector in Wales

27 September 2011

The National Assembly for Wales’s Enterprise and Business Committee is asking people to have their say on the procedures that are followed by public sector organisations when awarding contracts for certain goods, services or works.

The European Commission is currently preparing its proposals for the reform of public procurement legislation and a task and finish group from the Enterprise and Business Committee is interested in how changes would affect Wales.

Of particular interest to the Committee are the following questions:

• How effectively are the current UK procurement regulations working in Wales, both from a supplier/contractor and from a purchasing authority perspective?

• To what extent is value for money being achieved for purchasing authorities?

• How should the EU procurement directives be modernised from the perspectives of Welsh suppliers/contractors and purchasing authorities?

Chair of the task and finish group, Julie James AM, said: “The Welsh public sector spends over £4.3 billion, or around one third of its budget, on external goods and services, so any review of policy in the area is hugely important to Wales.

“We urge as many interested parties as possible to inform this important inquiry so that we can help reflect the needs of Wales in negotiations about the reform of EU public procurement legislation.”

Once the European Commission has published its proposals for the reform of public procurement legislation (expected by the end of 2011) the task and finish group will explore how the proposed changes could impact on public procurement in Wales and how they could address issues such as:

• The involvement of more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including social enterprises, in public procurement;

• The use of public procurement to advance other policy objectives, such as social and environmental policies;

• Complexity and flexibility within the public procurement system.

Extra information:

EU procurement policy rules apply when public authorities and utilities look to acquire specific supplies or services. The rules set out procedures which must be followed before awarding a contract when its value exceeds set thresholds.

More information on the consultation is available here.

The following members of the Committee will make up the task and finish group: Julie James (Chair) AM, Byron Davies AM, Eluned Parrott AM, David Rees AM, Leanne Wood AM.

Views should be sent to the Clerk of the Committee by 1 November:

Siân Phipps, Clerk, Enterprise and Business Committee
National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff Bay CF99 1NA
sian.phipps@wales.gov.uk