Ukrainian Invasion & UK Procurement

Last week, the UK Government released a Procurement Policy Note (PPN) that sets out how contracting authorities can further cut ties with companies backed by the states of Russia and Belarus.

It applies to:

• all central government departments
• their executive agencies
• non-departmental public bodies

Departments bodies and agencies that fall under the above are considered ‘In-Scope Organisations’ and are expected to apply these provisions with immediate effect.

The policy note said that in-scope organisations “should:

• Review their contract portfolio and identify any contracts where the prime contractor is a Russian or Belarusian supplier;
• Where a Russian or Belarusian prime contractor is identified, they should consider terminating that contract in accordance with the terms of the contract i.e. following a legally compliant process.
• Only proceed to terminate a contract if an alternative supplier can be sourced in line with value for money, affordability and with minimal disruption to public services”.

The PPN adds that any decisions to terminate a contract should be made on a case-by-case basis and within existing legal restrictions, financial allocations, and budgets.

Other public sector contracting authorities “should consider applying the approach set out” in the PPN.

The PPN also sets out the approach for new procurements. Contracting authorities could exclude from participating in the procurement, bids from suppliers who are constituted or organised under the law of Russia or Belarus, or whose ‘Persons of Significant Control’ information states Russia or Belarus as the place of residency.

The PPN can be found here

The accompanying frequently asked questions document can be found here.

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Photo by  Julia Rekamie