The marketisation of framework agreements in the UK : practice, regulation and reform / Steven Brunning and Luke RA Butler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brunning, Steven, author.

Butler, Luke R. A., author.

Contributor:

Bloomsbury (Firm), publisher.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Government purchasing--Law and legislation--Great Britain.

Government purchasing.

Public contracts--Great Britain.

Public contracts.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (352 pages)

Edition:

1st edition.

Place of Publication:

London : Hart Publishing, 2025.

Summary:

This book explores the increasing marketisation of framework agreements in UK public procurement and proposes ways to halt this trend. It features the first ever systematic analysis of framework contracting in the UK, assesses whether regulation, including the new Procurement Act 2023, has been effective, and proposes recommendations for legal and policy reform. Framework agreements are increasingly susceptible to marketisation in the context of public procurement. Contracting authorities view frameworks as convenient tools for purchasing even where other processes might be more suitable. Further, to aggregate demand and achieve economies of scale, central purchasing bodies are set up to run frameworks on behalf of many contracting authorities. However, central purchasing bodies often compete against each other to be the framework provider of choice in a "framework first" culture. This is fuelling a growth industry in which contracting authorities pay to use frameworks, suppliers pay to supply through them, and private sector providers also market their framework management services. Marketisation raises serious questions about how public service objectives are balanced against commercial imperatives and the pressure to drive efficiency savings. Crucially, the regulatory response at the EU and UK levels has been largely ineffective. The book is a key reference for policy makers, practitioners, academics, and civil society organisations concerned about transparency and value for money. Given the UK's legacy as an EU Member State seeking to "transform" public procurement post-Brexit, this book is of significant domestic as well as comparative interest.

Contents:

Part I: Introduction

1. Introduction and Context

Part II: The Marketisation of Framework Agreements and the Regulatory Policy Response

2. The Marketisation of Framework Agreements

3. EU and UK Regulatory Policy on Framework Agreements

Part III: The UK Experience: Discord Between Law and Practice

4. Preliminary Considerations in Establishing a Framework Agreement

5. Appointment of Suppliers and Process of Award

6. Legal Challenges and Remedies

Part IV: Reform

7. Transforming Public Procurement?: Regulatory Reform under the Procurement Act 2023

8. Future Directions for Framework Reform.

ISBN:

1-5099-8559-X

OCLC:

1520506043