Draft Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Paul Blomfield Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2020 General Committees

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

I will see what I can do, Mr Hollobone, to reflect the importance of the Minister’s debut—at least until about 3.55 pm.

As the Minister outlined, the regulations largely carry over the processes that we have had in place as EU members and put them in a new, UK-only framework. They are obviously necessary. They also lay the legal foundation for our individual membership of the Agreement on Government Procurement with the World Trade Organisation.

The Government recognise in the expansive explanatory memorandum to which the Minister referred that the regulations are a work in progress. As the memorandum highlights, it is “likely” that sections of the instrument that we are being asked to approve today will need to be “revoked and replaced” within the next few months—and not for the first time. Irrespective of the outcome of the negotiations on our future relationship, we have known for four years that we will be leaving the EU, and the withdrawal agreement was agreed more than 12 months ago. However, with less than two months before the end of the transition period, we are being presented with regulations that are not fully fit for purpose. Nevertheless, they are necessary regulations that sensibly provide for us to broadly continue the existing procedures, with which we agree. We clearly need a new framework and a smooth transition in the interests of fairness, effectiveness and transparency. Although we do not oppose this statutory instrument, we have some questions on points of detail.

In line with the approach of keeping things much as they are, these regulations contain certain steady state amendments, such as removing references to the Official Journal of the European Union, which is to be replaced by a new UK e-notification service. Public bodies will be required to submit notices to that service in place of the EU publications office, so will the Minister confirm that the new e-notification service will be up and running by the end of the transition period, as the Government have previously promised? Will she also outline what guidance and support has been prepared to assist those who will be required to use it?

The instrument transfers to the Minister for the Cabinet Office the European Commission’s function to revalue the main financial thresholds. It also replaces cross-references to thresholds in the relevant EU directive with sterling values contained within the regulations themselves, and it provides for the Commission’s biannual review of the thresholds to be undertaken by the Minister for the Cabinet Office. That is all quite straightforward, but we would like assurance from the Minister that none of those provisions will impact on existing rights. For example, regulation 7(4) revokes regulation 90 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, albeit allowing for a year before it does so.

In part 5 of the instrument, regulation 25 removes any prohibition on awarding contracts on the grounds of nationality, and regulation 26 removes the international obligations the UK entered into when it was part of the EU. Will the Minister explain the rationale for regulation 25 and, in the context of regulation 26, outline how the Government will ensure that standards are strengthened and not diminished?

Government procurement is clearly under the spotlight at the moment—the issue was raised at Prime Minister’s questions today—and so this is a good time to reflect on our procedures. In recent months, the Government have delayed publication of awarded contracts long after the required timescales. They have heavily redacted the details of those contracts, needlessly avoided competitive tendering, and used commercial sensitivity as an excuse not to provide basic information to reasonable questions, such as: what are the names of Serco’s 29 contact-tracing subcontractors? Even allowing for the challenges of the pandemic, that is simply not good enough. The Government must meet the minimum levels of transparency and the highest standards that we expect to underpin procurement rules.

We understand that the Government are planning to publish a Green Paper on procurement, which might mean that some of these regulations will work differently in future. Can the Minister provide any further information on how the regulations might be affected, and will she assure us that there will be meaningful consultation with the local representatives responsible for so much of the nation’s procurement? When we sought views on the regulations, the Local Government Association told us:

“Councils need a simple and efficient public procurement regime which ensures the best value for public money and respects local decision-making. Shorter timescales, lighter-touch advertising requirements and award procedures, a speedier way of dealing with legal challenges, greater negotiation with suppliers, and a new focus on SMEs and voluntary community and social enterprises (VCSEs) would also be of benefit.”

For too long, Ministers have hidden behind EU procurement laws as a reason not to do more, while other countries have used the same procurement framework to improve economic and social outcomes. We could, for example, apply the principles of the Welsh Government’s code of practice for ethical employment, which promotes decent jobs and the living wage, and protects against exploitative practices at work.

The Opposition’s ambition for procurement is not limited to price. We want more public bodies to be able to use procurement to strengthen employment standards, improve supply chains, tackle carbon emissions and support other policy objectives—using public money to give the broadest gain for the taxpayer, as part of joined-up government. In addition to answering my specific questions, I would be grateful if the Minister could tell us more about the Government’s plans to build on the regulations to achieve those broader objectives.