Procurement in a Nutshell: Guidance – Contract Details Notice
26th September, 2024
This Nutshell will analyse the recently published guidance on the requirements relating to the Contract Details Notice.
You can find a copy of the guidance here.
What is Contract Details Notice?
A Contract Details Notice serves to tell interested parties that a contract has been entered into and to provide details about that contract. Where a Contract Details Notice is published for a contract valued over £5 million, the contracting authority must also publish a copy of the contract.
Competitive tendering procedures
Contracting authorities must provide a description of the three KPIs which the contracting authority regards as most material to the performance of the contractual obligations. Where KPIs have not been set, the Contract Details Notice must include an explanation as to why the contracting authority does not feel that this is an appropriate way to assess the performance of the supplier.
A contracting authority must also provide the value and duration of the contract as well as confirm that a conflicts assessment has been prepared and revised as necessary.
Frameworks
The information required following the award of a framework is largely the same as that required when awarding a contract through a competitive tendering procedure. However, contracting authorities should note that any selection process to be followed when subsequent call-off contracts are awarded under the framework must also be detailed in the notice.
When a call off contract is awarded, the notice should include whether the award was made following a competitive selection process or without further competition and, if the latter, an explanation as to why the contracting authority considered no further competition was required. This information is in addition to that which is required following the award of contract under a competitive tendering procedure.
Direct Award
As well as the information required under a competitive tendering procedure, the notice must also include which direct award ground in Schedule 5 applies (for example ‘an extreme and unavoidable urgency’) or whether the contract was awarded pursuant to regulations made under Section 42.
Timings
The Contract Details Notice must be published:
- within 30 days of the contract being entered into; or
- in the case of a light touch contract, within 120 days of the contract being entered into.
Contracting authorities that enter into a public contract with an estimated value of more than £5 million must publish a copy of the contract as well as a Contract Details Notice. Publication must take place before the end of the period of 90 days beginning with the day on which the contract is entered into. This is extended to 180 days for light touch contracts.
Contracting authorities should note that, when publishing a copy of the contract, Section 94 of the Act permits contracting authorities to withhold information if it is commercially sensitive and there is an overriding public interest in it being withheld.
Contract changes
The contract published with the Contract Details Notice must be the contract that was originally entered into. However, the guidance notes that there may be cases where there is an immediate modification to a contract after it has been entered into.
In these cases, contracting authorities must not use the Contract Details Notice to record the contract change. They must publish the Contract Details Notice and a copy of the contract that was entered into; and then subsequently publish the Contract Change Notice with a copy of the contract as modified.
What does this mean?
While the Contract Details Notice is largely similar to the Contract Award Notice under Regulation 50 of the PCR, contracting authorities should note the time periods which apply under the Act. It is also advised that template documentation be updated to ensure it reflects the requirements under the Act and observes a key objective of the new regime, namely transparency.
For further information please contact Melanie Pears or Tim Care in our Public Sector Team.
Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.
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