Experts have warned that private providers and colleges could be further driven away from subcontracting by the government’s new Procurement Act as it “risks more litigation”. The act, which got royal assent last month and will come into action from next October, will also “create additional bureaucracy” across the board in further education. It covers procurement across all industries, but FE experts say it could have big consequences for the sector. The Department for Education has been trying to reduce the amount of subcontracting in FE, as prompted by concerns about poor oversight and fraud. The Procurement Act means that anyone tendering across the public sector, and failing to win a tender, will receive a breakdown of the individual scores awarded to the winning bid and their own, which they can then compare. Chris Murray, legal director at Eversheds Sutherland, said “One of the government’s key objectives with the change in rules is to ensure greater transparency in public procurement,” he said. Click here for more.
