This new procurement bill is a must-have to protect our national security!

• New amendments submitted to the Procurement Bill to strengthen national security.
• A specialized unit will be established to investigate vendors who may pose a risk to national security.
• Amendment to allow bidders to be excluded from sensitive sectors, while being able to win contracts in non-sensitive areas.
• The Procurement Bill, which will eliminate red tape and help small businesses, to have its Reporting Stage next week.

The government has announced that intensified measures will be advanced to protect national security in government contracts.

Yesterday, the government tabled amendments to the Procurement Bill, ahead of its Reporting Stage in Parliament next week to include two new measures:

• Establishment of a National Purchasing Security Unit. The new team, which will be based in the Cabinet Office, will investigate suppliers that may pose a risk to national security and assess whether companies should be excluded from public procurement.
• New powers to ban vendors from specific sectors, such as areas related to defense and homeland security, while allowing them to continue to win acquisitions in non-sensitive areas.

In addition, the government pledges to publish a schedule for the removal of surveillance equipment produced by companies subject to China’s National Intelligence Law from sensitive central government sites.

Cabinet Office Minister and Paymaster General Jeremy Quin said:

Protecting the nation’s security has always been the number one job of government.

These new measures will protect our sensitive sectors from companies that could threaten national security and are a strong deterrent to hostile actors who wish to harm Britain.

This builds on the strong Procurement Bill rules to hold vendors accountable and ensure the taxpayer is protected.

The new Homeland Security Unit for Procurement will draw on a wide range of knowledge within the government and respond quickly to emerging threats, such as companies seeking to win public contracts to gain access to sensitive information or sites that could be used to compromise the government and society. The team of specialists will work across the government, including liaising closely with our intelligence agencies.

To further strengthen national security measures, the government is introducing new context-specific mandatory disqualifications for national security purposes. This will mean that the government will be able to ban vendors who pose a national security risk from specific types of contracts.

The commitment to publish a timetable for the removal of relevant surveillance equipment from sensitive sites builds on steps taken last year to stop the installation of new equipment on government property. It will provide the necessary peace of mind that departments are removing surveillance equipment from sensitive sites.

Cabinet Office Minister Alex Burghart said:

The Procurement Bill puts the government in a stronger position to get the best deal for taxpayers, while prioritizing growth by cutting red tape and removing barriers for small businesses.

It is absolutely right that we continue to look for ways to strengthen central government rules when it comes to national security and I have no doubt that these additional steps will ensure that the bill meets its goal of having a robust and Modern that meets the British people. .

The bill, due for its reporting stage in the House of Commons next week, will make it easier for small businesses (SMEs) to earn more than the £300bn worth of goods, services and works the government buys each year. .

The bill introduces new rules to help the government procure in emergency situations, such as during health pandemics, by ensuring that contracting authorities can act quickly and transparently to purchase vital goods.

These simpler rules take advantage of freedoms now that Britain has left the EU, as well as strengthening the government’s ability to exclude providers that may have previously underperformed in government work. The rules will help to exclude suppliers, both in the UK and abroad, who are involved in modern slavery, further cracking down on this abhorrent practice.

The bill also confirms that value for money remains paramount during procurement, while encouraging buyers to take into account broader social and environmental considerations that the supplier may bring to the table.

Notes to editors:

• The new provisions will allow Ministers to consider the risk profile of a particular supplier, with the support of the new National Security Unit for Procurement, and act accordingly. Certain types of contracts can be identified on the debarment list for which the supplier should not be able to bid. This can be identified by the type of goods, services or works or by reference to certain contracting authorities or locations.
• The new unit will proactively monitor the vendor landscape and recommend to ministers which vendors should be vetted for debarment; the result of that investigation may lead to an entry on the debarment list. The proactive approach will go a long way in minimizing the risk posed by some providers and will make it easier for contracting authorities to implement national security exclusions.
• We also commit to publishing a schedule for the removal of surveillance equipment produced by companies subject to China’s National Intelligence Law from confidential central government sites. By committing to this schedule, we provide reassurance and urgency around removal plans.

The main benefits of the bill are:

• Offer better value for money: Supported by greater transparency and a personalized approach to procurement, the bill will provide greater flexibility for buyers to design their procurement processes and create more opportunities to negotiate with suppliers.

• Slash red tape and boost innovation: More than 350 complicated and bureaucratic rules govern public spending in the EU. Removing these and creating more sensible rules will not only reduce costs for businesses and the public sector, but will also drive innovation by allowing buyers to tailor procurements to their exact needs, building in stages like demos and test prototypes.

• Making it easier to do business with the public sector: The bill will accelerate spending with small businesses. A new duty will require contracting authorities to consider SMEs and we will guarantee 30-day payment terms on a wider range of contracts. The bill will also create a single digital platform for vendors to register their details once so they can be used for multiple offers.

• UK levelling: While value for money will remain the top priority in procurement, the bill will require buyers to take into account national strategic priorities such as job creation, improving the resilience of suppliers and the promotion of innovation. Buyers will be able to book tenders for contracts below certain thresholds for UK-based suppliers, SMEs and social enterprises.

• Tougher on underperforming suppliers: The bill will establish a new exclusions framework that will make it easier to exclude underperforming suppliers from other contracts. It will also create a new ‘opt-out register’, accessible to all public sector organisations, listing providers who should or can be opted out of contracts.

• Create an open and transparent system: everyone will have access to public procurement data. Citizens will be able to scrutinize spending decisions. Suppliers will be able to identify new opportunities to bid and collaborate. Buyers will be able to analyze the market and compare their performance with that of others, for example, in their spending with SMEs.

• Effective Emergency Procurements: The bill will enable faster competition processes for emergency purchases, reducing reliance on direct awards and retaining (and improving) the ability to pace in situations similar to the COVID pandemic

• National Security Protection: The bill includes specific rules for defense and security acquisitions and provides flexibility for contracts to upgrade technology to address gaps in capability. The bill also contains provisions that allow the contracting authority to exclude suppliers from procurement if they pose a threat to national security. In addition, the debarment list can identify suppliers that should be excluded from certain contracts, as well as identify suppliers that contracting authorities should consider excluding from a procurement.

• Strengthening Exclusion Grounds: The bill tightens the rules to combat modern slavery by allowing providers to be excluded where there is evidence of modern slavery, acknowledging that in some jurisdictions a provider is unlikely to ever be convicted.