Overview
The guidance documents are intended to provide technical guidance and help with interpretation and understanding of the Procurement Act 2023.
These documents should be read in conjunction with the Procurement Act 2023 and its associated regulations and are aimed at procurement practitioners and commercial policy leads in contracting authorities. They are intended to provide technical guidance and help with interpretation and understanding of the Procurement Act 2023.
The Procurement Act 2023 (Act) requires contracting authorities, when carrying out a ‘covered procurement’, to have regard to a number of objectives, which include acting, and being seen to act, with integrity (section 12(1)(d) of the Act). The integrity of a procurement may be compromised if it is influenced by external or private interests. Alongside the procurement objectives, the Act includes specific provisions dealing with conflicts of interest when carrying out a covered procurement (Part 5 of the Act).
A conflict of interest arises in a procurement context where there is a conflict between the interests of a person acting in relation to a procurement and those of the procurement itself.
Conflicts of interest need to be managed effectively to ensure that the public can trust contracting authorities to carry out public procurement responsibly and impartially. It also helps to encourage suppliers to participate in procurements, providing confidence that they will be treated fairly and that there will be genuine competition. When conflicts of interest are not identified and effectively mitigated, there can be far-reaching consequences. It can lead to accusations of fraud, bribery and corruption, legal challenges and the undermining of public confidence in the integrity of public institutions.
The Act requires contracting authorities to identify and keep under review actual and potential conflicts of interest. They must also mitigate conflicts of interest and address circumstances which the contracting authority considers are likely to cause a reasonable person to wrongly believe there to be a conflict or potential conflict of interest (’perceived conflict of interest’).
Legal framework
Under development.
Other guidance relevant to this area
- Covered procurement objectives
- Publication of information