19/01/2021
The Cabinet Office has published a new procurement policy note relating to below threshold procurements. The changes are enabled by the UK’s exit from the European Union and whilst their applicability to Northern Ireland (where procurement policy is devolved) is unclear, it may presage change locally.
The note permits relevant contracting authorities to consider reserving the procurement by supplier location and business type, meaning that a local authority could choose to accept bids from architects within the county they operate in as Fenland District Council has done in Cambridgeshire.
The option to reserve by supplier location should not define areas by nations of the UK, ruling out the possibility of NI-wide procurements, were the changes to be replicated locally.
