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NLJ this week: A clean sheet on public procurement

21 February 2025
Issue: 8105 / Categories: Legal News , Procurement , Public , Governance
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The Procurement Act 2023, which comes into force on 24 February 2025, ushers in a new regime for the awarding of public contracts. In this week’s NLJ, Paul Henty, partner at Beale & Co, a specialist in public procurement law, looks at the Act’s provisions on debarment and exclusion.

As Henty notes, the Act ‘heralds a new era of accountability and integrity’. It expands and strengthens the ability to exclude bidders, for example, they can be excluded because of the actions of parent and subsidiary companies or for the acts of ‘connected persons’.

Henty looks at the grounds, requirements and definitions involved. He writes: ‘Self-cleaning plays a critical role in determining whether discretionary exclusion grounds remain applicable. Suppliers can demonstrate their commitment to addressing past deficiencies.’ 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Freeths—Ruth Clare

Freeths—Ruth Clare

National real estate team bolstered by partner hire in Manchester

Farrer & Co—Claire Gordon

Farrer & Co—Claire Gordon

Partner appointed head of family team

mfg Solicitors—Neil Harrison

mfg Solicitors—Neil Harrison

Firm strengthens agriculture and rural affairs team with partner return

NEWS
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has launched a recruitment drive for talented early career and more senior barristers and solicitors
Regulators differed in the clarity and consistency of their post-Mazur advice and guidance, according to an interim report by the Legal Services Board (LSB)
The Solicitors Act 1974 may still underpin legal regulation, but its age is increasingly showing. Writing in NLJ this week, Victoria Morrison-Hughes of the Association of Costs Lawyers argues that the Act is ‘out of step with modern consumer law’ and actively deters fairness
A Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruling has reopened debate on the availability of ‘user damages’ in competition claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Edward Nyman of Hausfeld explains how the CAT allowed Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen’s alternative damages case against Meta to proceed, rejecting arguments that such damages are barred in competition law
The next generation is inheriting more than assets—it is inheriting complexity. Writing in NLJ this week, experts from Penningtons Manches Cooper chart how global mobility, blended families and evolving values are reshaping private wealth advice
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