| Date | Category |
|---|---|
| 13th May 2022 | Member Update |
The new Procurement Bill is currently passing through Parliament, having had its first reading in the House of Lords this week. This follows the Queen’s Speech on 10 May 2020 which stated that public sector procurement will be simplified to provide new opportunities for small businesses.
The Bill is intended to:
- Create a simpler regime that works better for the UK, reducing costs and improving productivity.
- Establish a single digital platform for supplier registration, businesses will only have to submit their data once to qualify for any public sector procurement.
- Give public sector buyers more freedom and flexibility by allowing them to better negotiate with suppliers and to design the buying process to meet the needs of their specific procurement.
- Enable smaller contracts to be restricted to UK suppliers, as permitted by World Trade Organization rules, and ensuring that procurement activities aid jobs and innovation.
Read the Procurement Bill here.
Whilst the higher education bill was the main feature of the Queen’s speech, there is a number of bill’s that we will see come into play throughout 2022-2023 that link to the higher education sector. These bills include:
- Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions Bill
- Draft Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Bill
- Bill of Rights
- Renters Reform Bill and Social Housing Regulation Bill
- Public Order Bill
- Draft Protect Duty Bill
- Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill
- Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill
- Online Safety Bill
Wonkhe, the home of higher education debate, have written a really informative article on these bills and how they relate to the higher education sector. You can read this article here.