Tendering and Commissioning
Guide to Commissioning for Maximum Value
Lawyer accuses public sector of ignoring 'social value' of charities in contract awards
Article 19 and reserving contracts
Article 19 regulations of the Procurement Directive 2004/18/EC form a part of European legislation that allows organisations to reserve public contracts for supported businesses, meaning it is permitted to invite only supported businesses to bid for the work. A supported business employs disabled people as over 50% of its workforce. For contracts under £144k, it is therefore allowable to simply invite a supported business – such as a local DPULO – to bid for a contract or offer them the chance to match the best price.
Awareness of Article 19 is very low, so sharing information about it and ensuring commissioners are aware of it would be very useful.
More info on it is available at
www.buyingsolutions.gov.uk/categories/
here and here).
