Contributions
1,244 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Amendment 22 would require the Government to publish a national procurement policy statement rather than just allowing them to do so. We have had a lot of debate about the nature…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Amendments 90 and 91, tabled by the hon. Member for Vauxhall, seek to amend clauses 12 and 16 so that contracting authorities have to have regard to potential barriers to the…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)No, I am happy to say that it is already set out in the social value Act, I think, which I mentioned at the start of my remarks. Similarly to amendment 9, we feel that amendment…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)As the hon. Lady knows, transparency sits throughout the Bill. As I have just said, there are far greater requirements to publish than ever before, on an online platform that the…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I will try to treat all the amendments in this large group in order. Amendment 9 seeks to replace the well-understood concept of value for money with a new duty, by importing into…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Clause 11 requires contracting authorities to carry out covered procurement solely in accordance with the Bill. Specifically, they must use the procedures in the Bill for…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Clause 10 concerns mixed contracts that involve an element to be procured under the general rules regime and an element to be procured under one of the special rules regimes. We…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Light-touch provisions reflect the fact that certain public contracts, including those for social, healthcare and legal services, can warrant special treatment and greater…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Colleagues will be sad to hear that we have only 117 clauses to go as we enter this second sitting. Clause 8 defines the concept of a concession contract. It is a type of public…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)It is a pleasure to be opposite my friend on the Opposition Front Bench, the hon. Member for Islwyn. I am sorry to say that such was the scale of his knockout defeat in that…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)Clause 7 defines “defence and security contract”, which is used in certain clauses and schedules to make specific provision for such contracts. The definition primarily covers…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)Thank you for your guidance on digressions, Mr Mundell. As the hon. Member for Vauxhall is aware, rail is not dealt with in the Bill. Schedule 2(17) states that public passenger…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)As I said a few moments ago, the group we are discussing is in part about making sure that we do not create another loophole where, in a mixed contract, it is possible for a…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)Clause 4 and schedule 3 are fundamentally interrelated. Clause 4 requires contracting authorities to estimate the value of contracts in accordance with a simple methodology set…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)Obviously, some contracts will, as I said, be brought above threshold, and those contracts will need to be conducted in accordance with the law. However, as I said to the hon.…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)On the hon. Lady’s two points, she is absolutely right that the mechanism that exists in our WTO arrangement is biennial. As I said, the next upgrade, relative to inflation, is in…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)We have already discussed how the majority of the Bill’s provisions cover the processes and procedures required of contracting authorities in relation to covered procurement. As…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)Again, I thank the Opposition for their support for the amendments. The hon. Member for Vauxhall asked an important question about housing associations. On the question of whether…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)Clause 6 explains that a utilities contract is a contract for the supply of goods, services or works wholly or mainly for the purpose of a utility activity. Utility activities are…31 Jan 2023HANSARDProcurement Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)The purpose of amendments 28 and 29 is to overturn amendments added to the Bill in the other place, which require that prior to publishing a national procurement policy statement,…31 Jan 2023