Reg. 77 (PCR 2015)
Reserved contracts for certain services
In: Plan > Strategy and plan
Overview
This regulation provides that contracting authorities may reserve qualifying suppliers the right to participate in procurement procedures, where the services to be procured are covered by the Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) codes as set out in this regulation (i.e. regulation 77).
In such circumstances, a supplier will be considered a “qualifying organisation” where:
- its objective is the pursuit of a public service linked to one of the CPV codes covered by this regulation
- its profits are reinvested into achieving the suppliers’ objective
- the management or ownership structure of the supplier is based on employee ownership or participatory principles (or require the active participation of employees, users or stakeholders), and
- the supplier has not been awarded, pursuant to this regulation, a reserved contract for services by the contracting authority within the past 3 years.
Contracts awarded under this regulation shall not have a duration longer than 3 years
Objective at this commercial stage
Consideration should be given as to whether the services to be procured are covered by this regulation (i.e. regulation 77) and whether the duration of the proposed contract falls within the limits of this regulation.
Key considerations at this commercial stage
Contracting authorities should:
- ensure that the services to be procured are reviewed (including the length of the contract) when seeking to rely on this regulation (i.e. regulation 77)
- where the services to be procured are covered by this regulation, consider whether to limit participation in the procurement to qualifying organisations (as defined by this regulation).
Legal framework
See also in the Procurement Act 2023:
- Section 33: Reserving contracts to public service mutuals
Additional support and guidance
Make sure you:
- read the regulation
- seek legal and commercial advice in the context of specific procurements
