What is so special about Regulation 57?

I like to keep an eye on the blog stats and apparently the post on Regulation 57 is by far the most popular of my "procurement tennis" game with Albert. Literally almost everyday someone ends up on that post, meaning they are probably arriving there from Google or other search engines.

What is so special about Regulation 57? It regulates exclusions under the Public Contracts Regulations and, frankly, there is plenty to say. As the Public Contract Regulations came into force only 8 months ago, there are probably many procurement officers running procedures for the first time under the new rules. In addition, some of the changes may also be relevant for contracts below-thresholds.

Regulation 29 (competitive procedure with negotiation) is another fan favourite. I am not surprised with this one, particularly here in the UK where there is the impression that having negotiations in procurement is a great way to obtain good results. That is true, but they are also a great way for a bad negotiator to hang himself. And the old poker saying is true here, "if 30 minutes into the game you have not identified the lame duck at the table..."

My gut feeling is that the competitive procedure with negotiation will replace most of the use cases that competitive dialogue was being used for until Francis Maude crackdown on its use in 2011 or 2012.