Latest blogs on procurement law

Under the Health and Social Care Act, by 27 March 2013 the Secretary of State for Health must report to Parliament on any matters which might affect the ability of NHS health care providers to provide health care services for the NHS or the reward available to them for doing so.

With effect from 1 April 2013 NHS Property Services Ltd (NHS PS) will be responsible for some 3500 NHS properties valued at around £5.5bn following dissolution of PCTs and SHAs. This will include a wide range of property types and will encompass everything from freeholds to short term leases.

The guidance documents set out information for the transfer of intellectual property to new and existing NHS organisations (Receivers) prior to 1 April. They will not be applicable to those assets that will not transfer nor to organisations which will not be part of the Department of Health or NHS from 1 April 2013.

The mandate underlines the Health Secretary's responsibility to preserve and defend the principles of...

The report highlights a rise in the number of complaints made about care in the NHS including a 50% rise in the number of complaints in which patients feel that the NHS had inadequately acknowledged mistakes in care.

116 CCG leaders from 101 organisations responded to the survey. Sixty-five per cent were GPs. Forty-seven per cent were CCG chairs thirty eight per cent were accountable officers and the remaining fifteen per cent were other senior executives or governing body members.

The Cabinet Office has recently published a Procurement Policy Note (PPN) on taking bidders' past performance into account when assessing bids.

The Cabinet Office released a Procurement Policy Note (PPN) on 8th November setting out government policy to ensure bidders' past performance is taken into account in certain future government procurements - which I am sure you will all agree is a sensible step.

On 31 October, the First Tier Tribunal gave judgment which provides some guidance on how far 'confidential information' received during a competitive bidding process can be withheld under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).