The Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO) has launched the first stage of its review of the regulatory framework for single source defence contracts.
The Secretary of State for Defence is required to conduct periodic reviews of the framework, with the SSRO providing its recommendations for the first of these by June 2017.
The regulatory framework was introduced by the Defence Reform Act 2014 and the Single Source Contract Regulations 2014. It aims to strike a balance between value for money for the taxpayer and fair prices for contractors by subjecting covered contracts to price control and by requiring suppliers to report a range of information to provide transparency.
The SSRO will be consulting widely before making its recommendations and, as a first step in this process, it is now calling for input on a range of topics. This is an important opportunity to contribute to the formation of the SSRO’s recommendations. The deadline for responses for this initial call for input is 15 July 2016.