The Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016

Made: 11th March 2016

Laid before Parliament: 17th March 2016

Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1(2) to (4)

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PART 1 — GENERAL

CHAPTER 1 — CITATION, COMMENCEMENT, EXTENT, DEFINITIONS AND SUBJECT-MATTER

Citation, commencement and extent

1

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Definitions

2

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Subject-matter and scope

3

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Contracting authorities

4

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Utilities

5

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Mixed procurement covering the same activity

6

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Procurement covering several activities

7

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CHAPTER 2 — ACTIVITIES

Common Provisions

8

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Gas and heat

9

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Electricity

10

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Water

11

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Transport services

12

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Ports and airports

13

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Postal services

14

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Extraction of oil and gas and exploration for, or extraction of, coal or other solid fuels

15

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CHAPTER 3 — MATERIAL SCOPE

SECTION 1 — Thresholds

Threshold amounts

16

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Methods for calculating the estimated value of the procurement

17

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SECTION 2 — Excluded contracts and design contests; special provisions for procurement involving defence and security aspects

Contracts awarded for the purpose of resale or lease to third parties

18

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Contracts and design contests awarded or organised for purposes other than the pursuit of a covered activity or for the pursuit of such an activity outside the United Kingdom

19

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Contracts awarded and design contests organised pursuant to international rules

20

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Specific exclusions for service contracts

21

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Service contracts awarded on the basis of an exclusive right

22

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Contracts awarded by certain utilities for the purchase of water and for the supply of energy or of fuels for the production of energy

23

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Defence and security

24

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Mixed procurement covering the same activity and involving defence or security aspects

25

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Procurement covering several activities and involving defence or security aspects

26

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Contracts and design contests involving defence or security aspects which are awarded or organised pursuant to international rules

27

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Contracts between contracting authorities

28

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Contracts awarded to an affiliated undertaking

29

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Contracts awarded to a joint venture or to a utility forming part of a joint venture

30

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Notification of information

31

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Research and development services

32

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Contracts subject to special arrangements

33

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Activities directly exposed to competition

34

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Procedure for establishing whether regulation 34(2)(b) is applicable

35

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CHAPTER 4 — General Principles

Principles of procurement

36

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Economic operators

37

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Reserved contracts

38

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Confidentiality

39

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Rules applicable to communication

40

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Nomenclatures

41

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Conflicts of interest

42

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PART 2 — RULES APPLICABLE TO CONTRACTS

CHAPTER 1 — Procedures

Conditions relating to the GPA and other international agreements

43

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Choice of Procedures

44

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Open Procedure

45

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Restricted Procedure

46

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Negotiated Procedure with prior call for competition

47

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Competitive dialogue

48

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Innovation partnership

49

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Use of the negotiated procedure without prior call for competition

50

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CHAPTER 2 — Techniques and instruments for electronic and aggregated procurement

Framework agreements

51

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Dynamic purchasing systems

52

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Electronic auctions

53

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Electronic catalogues

54

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Centralised purchasing activities and central purchasing bodies

55

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Occasional joint procurement

56

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Procurement involving utilities from other member States

57

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CHAPTER 3 — Conduct of the procedure

SECTION 1 — Preparation

Preliminary market consultations

58

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Prior involvement of candidates or tenderers

59

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Technical specifications

60

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Labels

61

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Test reports, certification and other means of proof

62

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Communication of technical specifications

63

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Variants

64

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Division of contracts into lots

65

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Setting time limits

66

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SECTION 2 — Publication and transparency

Periodic indicative notices

67

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Notices on the existence of a qualification system

68

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Contract notices

69

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Contract award notices

70

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Form and manner of sending notices for publication at EU level

71

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Publication at national level

72

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Electronic availability of procurement documents

73

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Invitations to candidates

74

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Informing applicants for qualification, candidates and tenderers

75

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SECTION 3 — Choice of participants and award of contracts

General principles

76

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Qualification systems

77

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Criteria for qualitative selection

78

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Reliance on the capacities of other entities

79

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Use of exclusion grounds and selection criteria provided for under the Public Contracts Regulations

80

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Quality assurance standards and environmental management standards

81

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Contract award criteria

82

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Life-cycle costing

83

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Abnormally low tenders

84

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SECTION 4 — Tenders comprising products originating in third countries and relations with those countries

Tenders comprising products originating in third countries

85

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CHAPTER 4 — Contract performance

Conditions for performance of contracts

86

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Subcontracting

87

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Modification of contracts during their term

88

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Termination of contracts

89

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PART 3 — PARTICULAR PROCUREMENT REGIMES

CHAPTER 1 — Social and other specific services

Award of contracts for social and other specific services

90

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Publication of notices

91

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Principles of awarding contracts

92

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Reserved contracts for certain services

93

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CHAPTER 2 — Rules governing design contests

Scope of Chapter 2

94

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Notices

95

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Rules on the organisation of design contests and the selection of participants and the jury

96

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Decisions of the jury

97

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PART 4 — INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION

Retention of contract copies

98

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Information and documentation requirements

99

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PART 5 — REMEDIES

CHAPTER 1 — FACILITATION OF REMEDIES

Scope of Chapter 1

100

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Notices of decisions to award a contract or conclude a framework agreement

101

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Standstill period

102

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CHAPTER 2 — APPLICATIONS TO THE COURT

Interpretation of Chapter 2

103

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Duty owed to economic operators from EEA States

104

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Duty owed to economic operators from certain other States

105

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Enforcement of duties through the Court

106

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General time limits for starting proceedings

107

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Special time limits for seeking a declaration of ineffectiveness

108

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Starting proceedings

109

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Contract-making suspended by challenge to award decision

110

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Interim orders

111

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Remedies where the contract has not been entered into

112

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Remedies where the contract has been entered into

113

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Grounds for ineffectiveness

114

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General interest grounds for not making a declaration of ineffectiveness

115

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The consequences of ineffectiveness

116

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Penalties in addition to, or instead of, ineffectiveness

117

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Ineffectiveness etc. in relation to specific contracts based on a framework agreement

118

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Injunctions against the Crown

119

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PART 6 — REVOCATION, MODIFICATION, SAVINGS AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

Interpretation of Part 6

120

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Revocations

121

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Transitional provisions and savings where procurement procedure commenced before 18th April 2016

122

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Time limits and the 2006 Regulations: modification of the existing saving of the original provisions

123

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Transitory provision prior to commencement of regulation 40(1) to (7)

124

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PART 7 — REVIEW

Review of these Regulations

125

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SCHEDULE 1 — ACTIVITIES CONSTITUTING WORKS

In this Schedule, ‘NACE’ has the same meaning as in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 on the classification of economic activities in the European Community[^f00040], and numerical references in the columns relating to the NACE relate to the Annex to that Regulation. In the event of any difference of interpretation between the CPV and the NACE, the CPV nomenclature shall apply.