PLA Working Group on the system of dealing with procurement challenges

The papers below are the outputs from a Working Group established by the PLA to look at potential areas for reform regarding our existing system of dealing with procurement challenges. The papers cover the results from a survey, some observations about other jurisdictions and some analysis of our existing system.

PLA working paper – effectiveness of current review system August 2020

PLA Survey Results on Potential Process Change – commentary

Survey Results – Members

Survey results – Non-members

Review Body Mechanisms in Other Jurisdictions

Working group paper on conflicts of interest

We are pleased to announce (June 2019) that the PLA working group paper on conflicts of interest is now available and can be downloaded by clicking on the button below.

Working group paper on NHS procurement

This publication sets out the results of work carried out by the PLA’s working group established to assess the legal landscape surrounding the procurement and provision of health services by National Health Service (NHS) commissioners and providers in England.

The systems which govern the commissioning and provision of health care services for the purposes of the NHS in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are structured differently from that which exists in England. The publication accordingly only covers the procurement law regimes which apply to National Health Service commissioners and providers in England, where particular complexities are considered by procurement lawyers to exist.

The publication is arranged in three parts, each dealing with a distinct area of the applicable law, as follows:

  • The relationship between EU public procurement law and the domestic regulatory regime applicable to the procurement of health care services for the purposes of the National Health Service in England;
  • Remedies available in relation to procurement of healthcare services; and
  • The applicability of competition law to the commissioning and provision of health services to the NHS in England, and considerations around integration in the provision of such services.

The PLA hopes that this publication will serve to clarify some areas of legal uncertainty in relation to the public procurement and competition rules applicable to the commissioning and provision of NHS health care services in England, and that it will assist in the development of best practice in this area.

Please note that papers published on the PLA’s website are not updated and should not be relied upon as current law.