Research and analysis

Public Procurement Review Service Progress Report 2021-22 (HTML)

Updated 29 February 2024

1. Public Procurement Review Service (PPRS) Highlights

PPRS sits within the Cabinet Office and allows public sector suppliers and potential government suppliers to raise concerns anonymously where they believe that there has been poor public sector procurement practice. PPRS also accepts cases raised by suppliers concerning the late payment (i.e. not paid within 30 calendar days or any earlier payment date as stated in the contract terms) of valid and undisputed invoices on a public sector contract.

The Progress Report highlights the main trends the service has seen from 6 April 2021 to 5 April 2022. It includes a comparison of procurement issues within the different sectors. It also addresses the outcome of feedback provided from user surveys and has a forward look for the financial year 2022/23.

PPRS received 94 cases in this financial year (plus 3 cases carried forward from the previous year) which represented an 19.7% decrease from 117 cases in 2020/21. Almost half of the cases were received from new service users. There were 18,419 contract opportunities posted to Contracts Finder during this period.

The top 5 reported issues to PPRS this year were:

• ‘Payment’
• ‘Evaluation’
• ‘Transparency’
• ‘Timescales’
• ‘Award’

PPRS unblocked £1.1m in late payments in 2021/22 on behalf of suppliers and we continue to maintain a 100% success rate in releasing overdue valid and undisputed invoices. This represented a 79.2% increase from £602.9k late payments recovered in 2020/21. The total amount PPRS has unblocked since the service began is £9.5m.

100% of recorded case outcomes were measured as ‘positive’ with a 100% service level achieved, with cases resolved within 2 months of receipt for issues relating to a central government body, or within 3 months of receipt for issues relating to the wider public sector (for example in local government).

2. Background

PPRS is one of a range of measures designed to make government easier to work with, helping suppliers (particularly Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs)), and levelling the playing field for those who want to supply to the Government.

We welcome enquiries from all suppliers who have concerns about the conduct of a procurement process that they have been part of, or which they wish to participate in. An enquiry must relate to a specific procurement. The issue must have taken place in the last two years and concerns a procurement process run by an in-scope contracting authority as defined by the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015). We also handle cases concerning the late payment (i.e. not paid within 30 calendar days or any earlier payment date as stated in the contract terms) of valid and undisputed invoices on a public sector contract. If the supplier has not followed the correct action, or understood the process, our work would involve providing advice and guidance rather than a recommendation to the contracting authority.

We work with central government departments (CG) and wider public sector (WPS) to help them understand concerns raised and to highlight best practice. Serious or persistent issues are escalated within contracting authorities and can be raised with the SME Crown Representative in addition to our investigations^{[footnote 1]}.

In some cases, our work leads to live procurements being adjusted. In other cases, we ensure that lessons are learned, leading to improvements in the way government sources future goods and services and ensuring suppliers are paid in accordance with Prompt Payment Policy. The majority of our cases are summarised and published^{[footnote 2]} naming the contracting authorities whilst businesses that reported the cases remain anonymous.

It should be noted that trends are based on the type of complaint that has been investigated at the closure stage and does not always indicate that an incorrect procurement process has been identified.

Our scope and remit can be viewed on GOV.UK^{[footnote 3]}.

3. Promoting PPRS

We want to ensure all suppliers and potential suppliers are aware of the service we offer and that we are maximising the various marketing options available to us.

In terms of existing communications, PPRS is advertised online on Contracts Finder^{[footnote 4]} which allows suppliers to search for information about public sector opportunities. Contracts Finder published 51,240 award notices in 2021/22. PPRS is also advertised on Find a Tender^{[footnote 5]} service that allows organisations to search and apply for high value contracts (usually above £118,000) in the UK’s public and utilities sectors. Find a Tender service published 11,418 award notices in 2021/22. PPRS is also promoted on the SME Hub^{[footnote 6]} on GOV.UK and the Service is referenced within the commercial playbooks.

To raise awareness of the service, PPRS published a media statement through the Government Commercial Function (GCF) LinkedIn account^{[footnote 7]}. We also have a promotional video on the GCF YouTube channel that has been shared with key stakeholders, along with a brochure that outlines our processes and trends. We will continue to promote our marketing material through the Cabinet Office’s SME Panel and Crown Representatives.

PPRS has adapted to online marketing and completed a series of webinars to raise awareness of the service and ensure procurement colleagues across government and suppliers are informed and empowered to promote and use the service. We have recorded an increase in both enquiries and Twitter followers after each webinar and intend to run these sessions quarterly going forward.

We continue to work closely with the Small Business Commissioner, similar services in the Devolved Administrations ^{[footnote 8]} and the SME Crown Representative to identify trends and share experience of best practices.

4. Cases Received and Sectors Involved

In the reporting year ended 5 April 2022, 94 new cases were received and a further three cases were carried forward from the previous year. This report focuses on the trends for the 67 cases handled through to closure; the remaining cases were either collapsed or rejected once further information was received. Cases are rejected if new evidence is identified that the complaint raised falls outside our scope and remit, we collapse cases if we lose contact with a supplier, they request to withdraw from the service, or they request to work directly with the contracting authority. Eight cases were carried forward to 2022/23.

Chart 1: Sectors we have received concerns about since the service started (closed only):

Year	Central Government	Wider Public Sector
2010/11	3	10
2011/12	56	98
2012/13	44	113
2013/14	59	112
2014/15	57	98
2015/16	34	83
2016/17	32	97
2017/18	48	89
2018/19	52	152
2019/20	26	85
2020/21	26	62
2021/22	20	47

The number of complaints received for CG has fallen from 26 cases in 2020/21 to 20 cases in 2021/22. There has also been a decrease in the number of cases received for WPS, from 62 cases in 2020/21 to 47 in 2021/22.

This is a positive sign that public sector buying practices are improving year on year.

There have been several internal and external factors impacting service users that we consider could have led to the downturn in case numbers this year, including the Covid-19 pandemic.

Case Enquiries

PPRS continually reviews its processes and identifies areas for improvement. We track enquiries received to understand the volume that does not transpire to a full case. Often these are of a general nature seeking further information or enquiries that could be handled directly by contracting authorities without the need to establish a case. We handled 179 enquiries to 5 April 2022, compared to 159 enquiries handled by the same point the previous year. We have also classified the nature of the enquiry to see if there are any further trends to support our ongoing spot check programme. 92 enquiries were not related to procurement processes and were signposted appropriately. 43 enquiries were outside our scope and remit, 14 did not respond to our requests for further information needed to establish a case, nine were referred to the Devolved Administrations and the remainder were answered by PPRS.

5. Main Issues Raised

High Level Classification

We classify enquiries by the overarching nature of the issue. The types of concerns we investigate are categorised at the closure stage of the investigation. These fall under 7 categories:

• Procurement Strategy i.e. the approach to achieve what the contracting authority requires from the contract,
• Procurement Process i.e. the process of finding, agreeing terms and acquiring goods, services or works,
• Late Payment,
• Transparency i.e. where the process was not clear,
• Technology/ Systems i.e. broken links or issues with eTendering Portals,
• Contract Management i.e. problems with the contract management process, and
• Bureaucracy of the Process.

This high level classification enables us to produce and analyse trends around the main issues received.

Chart 2: Types of Issues raised - High Level - 2021/22 comparison against previous year:

Type of issue raised	2020/21	2021/22
Payment	30	17
Procurement Process	30	23
Procurement Strategy	24	20
Transparency	4	7

In 2021/22 there was a significant drop in ‘Payment’ cases (17 cases) compared to 2020/21 where ‘Payment’ cases accounted for approximately a third of all closed cases representing 34.1% of the caseload (30 cases) in 2020/21.

PPRS remind contracting authorities of their obligations under Prompt Payment Policy and the PCR 2015 regulation 113^{[footnote 9]} including Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 02/20^{[footnote 10]} and PPN 04/20^{[footnote 11]} that set out information and guidance for public bodies on payment of their suppliers to ensure service continuity during the coronavirus outbreak. These additional PPNs offered supplier relief due to COVID-19 and may correlate with the reduction in ‘Payment’ cases. Due to the high success rate (100%) of PPRS unblocking payments, two suppliers accounted for over half the ‘Payment’ cases as repeat service users.

‘Procurement Process’- although proportionally similar to the previous year, there was a fall in cases from 30 in 2020/21 (34.1%) to 23 in 2021/22 (34.3%).

‘Procurement Strategy’ - although there was a decrease in cases, this represented an increase proportionally from 24 cases in 2020/21 (27.3%) to 20 cases in 2021/22 (29.9%).

‘Transparency’ - there was an increase in cases from four in 2020/21 (4.5%) to seven in 2021/22 (10.4%).

There were zero cases classified as ‘Technology/Systems’,‘Contract Management’ or ‘Bureaucracy of the Process’

Sub Level Classification

Closed cases are further classified to provide a more granular level of detail to enable us to identify and analyse trends. Within this report we have grouped issues where two or fewer cases have been received as ‘Other’.

Chart 3: Types of Issues raised - Sub Level 2021/22

Type of issue raised	2021/22
Payment	25.4%
Evaluation	10.4%
Transparency	6%
Timescales	6%
Award	6%
Tender requirement	4.5%
SME exclusion - Framework Strategy	4.5%
Feedback	4.5%
Communication	4.5%
Administration	4.5%
Other	23.9%

Late payment accounted for just over a quarter (25.4%) of all issues reported to PPRS this year compared to just over a third (30 cases (34.1%)) of all cases the previous year.

The next highest sub-issues are classified as follows:

• ‘Evaluation’ seven cases, 10.4%, with four complaints upheld.
• ‘Transparency’ four cases, 6.0%, no complaints upheld.
• ‘Timescales’ four cases, 6.0%, with three complaints upheld.
• ‘Award’ four cases, 6.0%, with one complaint upheld.

The concerns recorded under ‘Other’ include: ‘Insufficient detail’, ‘Favours incumbent’, ‘Advertisement’, ‘Technical issue with e-portal’, ‘Lotting’, ‘Length of documentation’, ‘Lack of feedback’, ‘Clarification questions’. ‘Other’ also includes SMEs that felt excluded by ‘Accreditation’, ‘Lotting’, and ‘Insurance and Financial requirements’.

6. Top Issues and Action

The top 5 areas of complaints received for contracting authorities are outlined in the table below. ‘Upheld’ represents cases where we have made recommendations for change in the contracting authorities’ process and provided signposting to published guidance. ‘Not upheld’ refers to cases where the contracting authority has followed the correct procedure and we were able to educate suppliers. There was an increase in the number of complaints acknowledged by contracting authorities where they acknowledged improvements could be made in the future.

Issue	Context	Action
‘Payment’ 17 cases CG - three cases WPS - 14 cases (all payment complaints are upheld at the point where the supplier receives payment)	All of the cases concerned non payment of valid and undisputed invoices. Where public sector invoices are not paid within 30 days and are not disputed, interest becomes liable as set out in the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. In addition, under the PCR 2015, public sector buyers must publish the amount of interest paid to suppliers due to late payment. Payment policy PCR 2015 regulation 113. Prompt payment policy	We unblocked £1.1m in late payments on behalf of suppliers. We remind contracting authorities of their obligations under the PCR 2015[footnote 12], including PPN 02/20[footnote 13] and PPN 04/20[footnote 14] that sets out information and guidance for public bodies on payment of their suppliers to ensure service continuity during the coronavirus outbreak. PPRS continues to work with NHS England and Improvement through regular best practice meetings to help Trusts and suppliers in improving their processes to ensure prompt payment compliance.
‘Evaluation’ Seven cases CG - two cases (neither upheld) WPS - five cases (three upheld)	Concerns were raised on how the evaluation process was run, including the evaluation criteria and potential conflicts of interest within the evaluation panel.	Where complaints were upheld, PPRS recommended that contracting authorities provide clear guidance on the way in which answers will be evaluated, to ensure all opportunities meet the PCR 2015 regulation18, Principles of Procurement[footnote 15]. For cases where complaints were not upheld, PPRS was able to confirm a fair and transparent process had been followed that aligned with the advertised opportunity. Where improvements could me made in the future PPRS recommended that the Authority should consider the Sourcing Playbook[footnote 16] when planning future evaluations to achieve maximum effectiveness when calculating the most economically advantageous tender and delivering the best price to quality ratio and test before implementation. PPRS will also follow-up with the Authority to review the implementation of this recommendation.
‘Transparency’ Four cases, all WPS, all not upheld.	Concerns were raised regarding inaccuracies in tender documentation, specifically around which procurement procedure was being adopted, as well as concerns over bias towards incumbent suppliers.	No complaints were upheld and PPRS was able to assure suppliers that the Contracting Authorities had not breached the PCR 2015PCR 2015, specifically contracting authorities had followed the correct process to ensure conflicts of interest were identified and managed correctly in accordance with regulation 24.
‘Timescales’ Four cases CG - 2 cases (one upheld) WPS - 2 cases (one upheld)	Suppliers were concerned over the short timescales in which to submit their bid.	Where complaints were not upheld we were able to advise suppliers that these were below threshold opportunities and therefore there are no stipulated timescales. Where complaints were upheld, the Contracting Authorities reconsidered their timescales, cancelled the procurement and relaunched the opportunity with extended timescales.
‘Award’ Four cases, all WPS, one upheld.	Suppliers contacted PPRS to seek assurance over the due diligence being undertaken prior to award.	Where the complaint was upheld, a typographical error had transposed the name of the complainant with that of the winning supplier. The Authority apologised for the error and agreed to arrange a debrief session with them directly. PPRS reminded the Authority of the importance of accurate communications to ensure that this does not happen in future procurements. Where complaints were not upheld, PPRS was able to review the due diligence checks undertaken and offer assurance that the assessment was acceptable.

7. Case Outcomes

We make recommendations to the contracting authority on how to remedy the specific problem raised. If we consider that the issues raised might have wider applicability to general public procurement practice, we work with policy colleagues in the Cabinet Office to issue general guidance to all public bodies, for example through a PPN. This year, the majority of cases have seen us direct people to existing guidance rather than driving new policy.

Serious or persistent issues are escalated within contracting authorities and can be raised with the SME Crown Representative in addition to our investigations.

100% of outcomes were considered to be positive, our recommendations were accepted^{[footnote 17]}, and areas to improve future procurement practice were identified and agreed. Working at pace resulted in changes being made to 14 live procurements, an increase from 8 cases the previous year. We handled 29 cases where the correct procedure had been followed by the contracting authority and were able to offer advice to the supplier to help them understand what had happened and why. This represented a decrease from 40 cases the previous year.

Chart 4: Outcome of closed cases - 2021/22 comparison against previous year

Outcome	2020/21	2021/22
Accepted recommendations	30	17
Complaint not upheld	40	29
Future procurements adjusted	10	7
Live procurement adjusted	8	17

Collapsed and rejected cases

Out of 97 cases managed, 10 cases were rejected and 12 cases were collapsed. This compared to 33 cases (25 rejected, 8 collapsed) in the previous year. Cases are rejected if new evidence is identified that the complaint raised falls outside our scope and remit. We collapse cases if we lose contact with a supplier, they request to withdraw from the service, or they request to work directly with the contracting authority. This year we changed our triage process asking more questions at the start of the process to improve customer service.

8. Service Satisfaction Surveys

We aim to handle CG cases within 60 days and WPS cases within 90 days. In 2020/21 100% of cases were managed through to conclusion within this service level agreement (SLA).

Feedback surveys are sent directly to suppliers and contracting authorities following case closure. Feedback from suppliers has shown that we have a positive impact on public sector procurement by recommending changes in contracting authorities’ procurement activities.

Supplier Feedback

A total of 56 surveys have been sent to suppliers. We had 32 responses, giving a 57.1% response rate, up from 32.8% the previous year.

• 81.3% agreed it was easy to find information on PPRS, which has increased from 75% the previous year,
• 93.5% agreed the process and outcome was explained, which has increased from 89.5% the previous year,
• 78.1% were satisfied with the service provided,
• 78.1% would use the service again, and
• 78.1% would recommend the PPRS to others.

Contracting Authority Feedback

A total of 45 surveys have been sent to contracting authorities that have been contacted by PPRS and we have received 9 responses giving a response rate of 20.0%, down from 24.5% the previous year.

• 88.9% agreed the process and case outcome was explained, which has decreased from 100% in the previous year,
• 85.7% agreed that the advice received and recommendations were useful, which has increased from 66.7% the previous year, and
• 88.9% agreed that PPRS is a helpful route to question procurement practice, which has decreased from 91.7% the previous year.

Actions in response to Feedback

We rely on the surveys to give us information to help improve the service we provide going forward. We received a lot of positive feedback from both suppliers and contracting authorities, some of the comments include:

• “I was impressed that the matter was taken seriously and managed effectively. I was pleased that a positive outcome was achieved. It would be good to know if there will be follow up to see if the promised reforms are actually adopted.”
• “I was very impressed with the quick response, the immediate understanding of the issue raised and the speedy resolution. The PPRS is a credit to the transparency and excellence of public procurement.”
• “prompt response to all of my communication, and most importantly, managed to rapidly resolve the overdue invoice.”
• “I had not used the PPRS before so did not know exactly what to expect but the service exceeded the expectations I did have.”

In terms of making improvements to the service we have taken on the constructive feedback received below:

You Said	We Did
“We experience very poor and tardy feedback from most public sector organisations.”	PPRS has referred this issue for review as part of the development of the Government’s Procurement Bill. Future actions could see more information being released to bidders .
“We do not tell Suppliers about the Service.”	As part of our marketing plan we regularly host supplier webinars to raise awareness of PPRS.
“PPRS did not have the power to be able to fully and comprehensively investigate.”	The dissatisfaction of the service users was based on PPRS not being able to enforce recommendations on a contracting authority; this will be considered within the development of the Government’s Procurement Bill.

9. Forward Look for 2022/23

The service is continually evolving to reflect the Government’s policy aims in procurement. Cases vary and can range from the structure of the procurement to the tender process and late payment of suppliers and we will adapt the service outputs in line with trends and issues.

Our focus for 2022/23 will fall in the following main areas:

• We will continue to market our services and run quarterly webinars, to ensure suppliers are aware of the support available, in line with policy and customer needs. We will work with the GCF Communication Team, SME Panel and SME Champions to ensure we identify the best route to market our services to suppliers and put plans in place to deliver.
• We will actively support the Small Business Crown Representative in liaising with SMEs when working with the Government. We will also work closely with the Small Business Commissioner^{[footnote 18]} and other small business support teams and similar services operating within the Devolved Administrations to assist in signposting and sharing best practice in areas outside our scope.
• We will continue to work with stakeholders to improve our services and raise awareness of the trends identified from the issues raised and feed into policy development.
• We will continue to work with contracting authorities to ensure that our recommendations are taken forward in future procurements.
• We will continue to work with teams across the GCF to feed in the issues that are raised to improve commercial capability.
• We will introduce regular buyer webinars to educate public sector procurement teams on the benefits of our services and how they should include reference to PPRS within their procurements.
• A new Procurement Review Unit (PRU) is planned to support implementation of the Procurement Bill in 2023. The existing functions of the PPRS are to continue, with the PPRS being subsumed (or rebranded) into the new PRU.

Annex A - Main Trends for Central Government

Chart 5: Issues investigated with CG - High Level - 2021/22 comparison against previous year

Issue	Not upheld	Upheld
Payment 2020/21	0	1
Payment 2021/22	0	3
Procurement Process 2020/21	5	5
Procurement Process 2021/22	3	4
Procurement Strategy 2020/21	11	2
Procurement Strategy 2021/22	6	4
Transparency 2020/21	0	2
Transparency 2020/21	0	0

We investigated 20 cases classified as CG in 2021/22, down from 26 the previous year. Cases classified as ‘Procurement Strategy’ remained the highest number of complaints with 10 cases, although down from 13 the previous year, four complaints were upheld, which was double those upheld in 2020/21. Cases categorised under ‘Procurement Process’ also continued to be prevalent in this sector again this year, accounting for 35.0% (seven cases) with four of those complaints upheld.

The Sourcing Playbook^{[footnote 19]} was designed to improve how the government works with industry and deliver better public services; the latest version includes a chapter specifically focussing on building and maintaining successful relationships with suppliers. They have worked closely with CG departments to upskill and share best practice throughout the commercial life cycle.

Chart 6: Issues investigated with CG - Sub Level - 2021/22

Issue Investigated	2021/22
Payment	15%
SME exclusion - Framework Strategy	15%
Other	70%

‘Payment’ (all upheld) and ‘Framework Strategy’ that lead to SMEs feeling excluded were the highest reported issues for CG, one complaint was upheld, one live procurement adjusted and one department agreed to change their strategy in the future.

In the previous the highest reported issues were regarding ‘Use of Framework’ with seven cases, ‘Feedback’ with four cases, and ‘Evaluation’ with three cases.

Individual complaints were received regarding the way opportunities were advertised and communicated, as well as insufficient detail being provided and a lack of feedback.

Chart 7: CG department split of cases not upheld and upheld 2021/22

Parent Department	Upheld	Not upheld
CCS	2	4
MOJ	1	1
DCMS	1	1
Non-ministerial	1	0
MOD	1	0
HO	0	1
HMRC	1	0
FCDO	0	1
DHSC	1	0
DFT	1	0
DFE	0	1
DEFRA	1	0
CO	1	0

55.0% (eleven cases) of the complaints made on CG cases were upheld in 2021/22 representing an increase from 30.8% (eight cases) of the complaints made on CG cases that were upheld in 2020/21. A detailed breakdown of complaints upheld can be seen in Section 6: Top Issues and Action above.

In the previous year MOD and DfE were the subject of six cases each. Of these, three were upheld against MOD and two against DfE.

Annex B - Main Trends for Wider Public Sector

Chart 8: Issues investigated with the WPS - High Level - 2021/22 comparison against previous year

Issue	Not upheld	Upheld
Payment 2020/21	0	29
Payment 2021/22	0	14
Procurement Process 2020/21	13	7
Procurement Process 2021/22	9	7
Procurement Strategy 2020/21	8	3
Procurement Strategy 2021/22	6	4
Transparency 2020/21	1	1
Transparency 2020/21	5	2

The WPS continued to account for just over two thirds of cases although the number of complaints received declined from 62 in 2020/21 to 47 this year. In 2021/22 ‘Procurement Process’ received the highest number of complaints, 16 cases, although this was lower than the 20 cases received the previous year. ‘Payment’ cases continued to be prevalent (14 cases). It is worth highlighting that there has been a significant reduction of payment cases, less than half than in 2020/21 and of the 14 cases received in 2021/22, 11 related to an NHS Trust compared to 29 cases in 2020/21. PPRS continued to engage with representatives from the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England & Improvement to raise awareness of the issues previously reported within their sector and this decrease is a positive reflection of that continued engagement.

Chart 9: Issues investigated with the WPS - Sub Level 2021/22

Issue Investigated	2021/22
Payment	29.8%
Evaluation	10.6%
Transparency	8.5%
Award	8.5%
Tender requirement	6.4%
Other	36.2%

Late payment accounted for just under half (46.8%) of all WPS issues reported to PPRS in 2020/21. Although still the highest number of complaints, ‘Payment’ represented just 29.8% of WPS complaints this year. Evaluation’ at 10.6% remained consistent with the previous year. ‘Transparency’ and ‘Award’ both received four complaints, although all but one case classified as ‘Award’ were not upheld.

In the previous year the highest reported issues were regarding ‘Payment’ with 29 cases, ’Evaluation’ with nine cases, ‘Advertisement’ with five cases. ‘Use of Framework’, ‘SME Exclusion - Financial requirement’, and ‘Feedback’ all had three cases.

The concerns recorded under ‘Other’ include issues raised with; ‘Timescales’, ‘Communication’, ‘Administration’, Technical issue with e-portal’, ‘Lotting’, ‘Length of documentation’, Insufficient detail’, ‘Feedback’, ‘Favours incumbent’, Clarification questions’ and ‘Advertisement’. ‘Other’ also includes SMEs that felt excluded by ‘Lotting’, and ‘Insurance and Financial requirements’

Chart 10: WPS - sector split of cases not upheld and upheld 2021/22

Issue	Upheld	Not upheld
Council	9	15
NHS	14	0
Police	2	1
Housing Association	0	3
Education	1	1
MOD	1	0

The majority of WPS complaints were upheld. As these cases mainly relate to late payments the complaint is always upheld once payment has been made. Overall 47 out of 67 WPS cases (70.1%) were upheld in 2021/22 representing an increase of complaints upheld compared with 40 WPS cases in 2020/21 where 64.5% were upheld. The case that is classified as MOD is related to a Non-Departmental Public Body where MOD is a sponsor. A detailed breakdown of complaints upheld can be seen in “Section 6: Top Issues and Action” above.

In the previous year NHS was the subject of 33 cases, where 29 were upheld. Councils were the subject of 21 cases where nine were upheld.

1. Martin Traynor OBE, the Small Business Crown Representative, leads on the relationship between government and small businesses, advises Ministers on engagement and identifies any barriers they face when working with the Government. ↩

2. Publication wording is published once agreed with the contracting authority. Where multiple complaints are received simultaneously we publish a joint summary of our findings. In the interest of transparency the supplier has sight of the wording prior to publication. ↩

3. Public Procurement Review Service Scope and Remit (pdf, 115 KB) ↩

4. Contracts finder ↩

5. Fine Tender ↩

6. Small and medium business hub ↩

7. Government Commercial Function Public Procurement review service reclaims activity ↩

8. Other services exist in: Northern Ireland - CPD Charter / Scotland - Single Point of Enquiry / Wales - Supplier Feedback Service ↩

9. PCR 2015 regulation 113 ↩

10. Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 02/20 ↩

11. Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 04/20 ↩

12. Regulation 113 ↩

13. Procurement Policy Note 02/20 ↩

14. Procurement Policy Not 04/20 ↩

15. The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ↩

16. The Sourcing Playbook (pdf, 2.8 MB) and Bid Evaluation Guidance (pdf, 2.1 MB) ↩

17. All ‘Payment’ cases are classified as ‘Accepted Recommendations’ at the point of closure. ↩

18. Small Business Commisioner ↩

19. The Sourcing Playbook (pdf, 2.8 MB) and [Bid Evaluation Guidance (pdf, 2.1 MB)] ↩