header-logo header-logo

Public procurement: He knew he was right…

23 July 2021 / Nicholas Dobson
Issue: 7942 / Categories: Features , Public
printer mail-detail
53329
Nicholas Dobson reports on Cabinet Office procurement decisions found unlawful through apparent bias
  • A fair-minded and informed observer would conclude that there was apparent bias by the Cabinet Office when it appointed a research agency without considering other potential competitors.

The prime minister’s former adviser, Dominic Cummings, is not noted for excessive constraint or diffidence in his public pronouncements. So, commenting on vaccine deployment, he tweeted about his ‘rushed instructions on how to change Vaccine Taskforce from another Hancock shitshow to low-friction-fast-decisions success’. Among the instructions was that: ‘…we need treatments by autumn, not powerpoints and meetings for months’ and ‘no usual bullshit and processes…’.

Cummings was consequently quick off the Twitter mark when Mrs Justice O’Farrell in the Technology and Construction Court found on 9 June 2021 in R (on the application of Good Law Project) v Minister for the Cabinet Office [2021] EWHC 1569 (TCC) that his recommended Cabinet Office appointment of Public First (PF)—an agency specialising in opinion research on complex public policy issues—was unlawful through

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll