- a qualifying utilities dynamic market notice
means a dynamic market notice under section 39(2) (dynamic market notices) that—
- action
includes acts and omissions;
- air service
means a flight, or a series of flights, carrying passengers or cargo (including mail);
- airport
has the same meaning as in Part 1 of the Civil Aviation Act 2012 (see section 66 of that Act).
- ancillary service
means a service listed as such in Part 3A of Schedule 2 to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/544);
- appropriate authority
means— (a) a Minister of the Crown, (b) the Welsh Ministers, or (c) a Northern Ireland department;
- appropriate supplier
means a supplier that—
- assessment summary
means, in relation to an assessed tender, information about the contracting authority’s assessment of—
- asset pool company
has the meaning given by section 1(9)(a) of the Pension Schemes Act 2026;
- associated person
means a person that the supplier is relying on in order to satisfy the conditions of participation (see section 22(8)), but not a person who is to act as guarantor as described in section 22(9).
- Associated tender document
means, in relation to a tender notice, a document setting out information specified in regulations under section 95 that supplements that set out in the tender notice.
- award criteria
means criteria set in accordance with this section against which tenders may be assessed for the purpose of awarding a public contract under section 19 (award following competitive tendering procedure).
- below-threshold contract
means— that has an estimated value of less than the threshold amount for the type of contract.
- burden
includes—
- central government authority
has the meaning given in paragraph 5 of Schedule 1;
- centralised procurement authority
means a contracting authority that is in the business of carrying out procurement for or on behalf of, or for the purpose of the supply of goods, services or works to, other contracting authorities.
- classified information
means information or other material which— (a) in the interests of national security, requires protection from unauthorised access, distribution, or destruction, or from other compromise, and (b) on the basis of those interests, has that protection under the law of any part of the United Kingdom;
- CMA
means the Competition and Markets Authority;
- comparable contract
means a contract that was— (a) a contract for the same kind of services, (b) awarded by the same contracting authority, and (c) awarded in reliance on this section;
- competitive selection process
means a competitive selection process for the award of a public contract in accordance with a framework.
- complete work
has the meaning given in Schedule 1.
- component
has the meaning given by section 15(6).”
- concession contract
means a contract for the supply, for pecuniary interest, of works or services to a contracting authority where—
- condition of participation
means a condition that a supplier must satisfy in order to be awarded a public contract in accordance with the framework.
- conduct
includes acts and omissions;
- conflict of interest
has the meaning given in section 81;
- contract award notice
means a notice setting out—
- contract details notice
means a notice setting out—
- contract regulated by Scottish procurement legislation
has the meaning given in section 83B(5)(a);
- contracting authority
means— other than an excluded authority.
- convertible contract
has the meaning given in section 74.
- court
includes a tribunal;
- covered procurement
means the award, entry into and management of a public contract.
- debarment list
means the list kept under section 62.
- debarment standstill period
has the meaning given in subsection (6) of section 62 (debarment list).
- defeat
means that— (a) Condition A in paragraph 5 of Schedule 16 to the Finance (No. 2) Act 2017, or (b) Condition B in paragraph 6 of that Schedule, is met in respect of the arrangements (where “T” in those paragraphs is taken to mean the supplier or connected person entering into the arrangements);
- defence and security contract
means a contract for the supply of—
- defence authority contract
means a defence and security contract awarded by a defence authority.
- devolved procurement
means procurement carried out by a devolved Scottish authority;
- devolved Welsh authority
has the meaning given in section 157A of the Government of Wales Act 2006.
- director
has the meaning given in section 250 of CA 2006;
- dynamic market
means arrangements established under section 35(1);
- electronic communication system
includes any electronic system used for the purpose of communication with suppliers.
- electronic invoice
means an invoice which is issued, transmitted and received in a structured electronic format that allows for its automatic and electronic processing;
- enactment
includes primary legislation and legislation made under primary legislation;
- equipment
includes any part, component or subassembly of equipment;
- equivalent body
means, in relation to a centralised procurement authority, a body carrying out functions of a kind described in section 1(4) (centralised procurement authorities);
- event
means a conviction, decision, ruling, failure or other event by virtue of which a mandatory exclusion ground would apply to a supplier;
- exclusion ground
means a mandatory exclusion ground or a discretionary exclusion ground;
- existing goods, services or works
means goods, services or works already supplied, or contracted to be supplied, to the contracting authority;
- existing legislation
means any enactment, other than this Act or regulations made under this Act, that is passed or made before section 11 (covered procurement only in accordance with this Act) comes into force;
- existing supplier
means a supplier that is party to a framework under the open framework.
- financial year
means— (a) the period of twelve months beginning with the 1 April following the day on which this section comes into force, and (b) each successive period of 12 months;
- framework
has the meaning given in section 45(2).
- framework agreement
has the same meaning as in the relevant Scottish procurement legislation;
- government
includes—
- GPA
means the Agreement on Government Procurement signed at Marrakesh on 15 April 1994, as amended from time to time;
- HMRC
means His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;
- horizontal arrangement
means an arrangement—
- information
includes evidence verifying that information.
- intelligence services
means the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service and the Government Communications Headquarters.
- interest
includes a personal, professional or financial interest and may be direct or indirect;
- investment management activities
means activities involved in or connected with the management of funds or other assets for which a local government pension scheme manager is responsible (including making and managing investments on behalf of the scheme manager);
- investment service or activity
means a service or activity listed as such in Part 3 of Schedule 2 to that Order.
- judicial proceedings
includes proceedings before a court, tribunal or public authority;
- known risk
means a risk that—
- lawyer
means— (a) a person who is an authorised person or an exempt person in relation to a reserved legal activity for the purposes of the Legal Services Act 2007 (see sections 18 and 19 of that Act);
- light touch contract
means a contract wholly or mainly for the supply of services of a kind specified in regulations under subsection (2).
- local government pension scheme manager
means a person who is, by virtue of section 4(5) of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013, a scheme manager for a pension scheme for local government workers in England and Wales;
- material breach
means a breach that the contracting authority considers could reasonably result in a successful legal challenge under Part 9 or otherwise.
- member of the Welsh Government
means a person referred to in section 45 of the Government of Wales Act 2006.
- military equipment
means equipment specifically designed or adapted for military purposes, including— (a) arms, munitions or war material, and (b) any of the military goods, software and technology the export or transfer of which is controlled by virtue of Schedule 2 to the Export Control Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/3231), as amended from time to time;
- Minister
means— (a) a Minister of the Crown;
- Minister of the Crown
has the same meaning as in the Ministers of the Crown Act 1975;
- necessary
means necessary to—
- negotiated tendering period
means a tendering period agreed between a contracting authority and pre-selected suppliers in circumstances where tenders may be submitted only by those pre-selected suppliers;
- Northern Ireland legislation
has the meaning given in section 24(5) of the Interpretation Act 1978;
- notifiable tax arrangements
means tax arrangements in respect of which a reference number— (a) has been notified to the supplier or connected person under section 311A, 312 or 312ZA of the Finance Act 2004 (disclosure of tax avoidance schemes) or paragraph 22A, 23 or 23A of Schedule 17 to the Finance (No. 2) Act 2017 (disclosure of tax avoidance schemes: VAT and other indirect taxes), and (b) has not been withdrawn;
- novel goods or services
means goods or services designed or developed at the request of the contracting authority.
- other dispute resolution proceedings
includes arbitration, mediation and conciliation.
- parent undertaking
has the meaning given in section 1162 of the Companies Act 2006, save that an “undertaking” includes any person;
- parent undertakings
means two or more contracting authorities acting jointly that would, if they were a single undertaking, be a parent undertaking.
- Part 2-only contract
means a contract of a kind listed in this Part of this Schedule that is not of a kind listed in Part 1 of this Schedule.
- participating supplier
means a supplier that— (a) has submitted a request to participate in, or a tender as part of, the competitive tendering procedure, and (b) has not been excluded in accordance with the procedure or under this Act.
- participation period
means the period beginning with the day following the day on which a contracting authority invites the submission of requests to participate in a competitive flexible procedure and ending with the day by which those requests must be submitted;
- payee
means the person due to be paid under the invoice concerned;
- payments compliance notice
means a notice setting out—
- pipeline notice
means a notice setting out specified information about any public contract with an estimated value of more than £2 million in respect of which the contracting authority intends to publish a tender notice or transparency notice during the reporting period.
- planned procurement notice
means a notice setting out—
- pre-selected supplier
means a supplier that— (a) has been assessed as satisfying conditions of participation before being invited to submit a tender as part of a competitive tendering procedure, or (b) in the case of a contract that is being awarded by reference to suppliers’ membership of a dynamic market, is a member of that market;
- predecessor company
means a company which— (a) became insolvent and ceased to trade, (b) before it ceased to trade, carried on the same or substantially the same business as the supplier, (c) has transferred all or substantially all of its assets to the supplier, and (d) had at least one director or shadow director who is or has been a director or shadow director of the supplier;
- preliminary market engagement notice
means a notice setting out—
- primary legislation
means— (a) an Act of Parliament, (b) an Act of the Scottish Parliament, (c) an Act or Measure of Senedd Cymru, or (d) Northern Ireland legislation;
- private utility
means a person that— (a) is not a public authority or public undertaking, and (b) carries out a utility activity.
- procedural requirement
includes a requirement that a supplier provide information.
- procurement
means the award, entry into and management of a contract;
- procurement documents
means— (a) the tender notice or associated tender documents, including any requirements of a competitive tendering procedure, conditions of participation or award criteria;
- procurement investigation
means an investigation under subsection (1);
- Professional misconduct
includes conduct involving—
- public authority
means a person that is— (a) wholly or mainly funded out of public funds, or (b) subject to public authority oversight, and does not operate on a commercial basis (but see subsections (9) and (10));
- public service mutual
means a body that—
- public sub-contract
means a contract substantially for the purpose of performing (or contributing to the performance of) all or any part of a public contract.
- public undertaking
means a person that— (a) is subject to public authority oversight, and (b) operates on a commercial basis;
- pupil referral unit
means— (a) in England, a pupil referral unit within the meaning given by section 19 of the Education Act 1996;
- qualifying planned procurement notice
has the meaning given in section 15;
- qualifying public service mutual
means a public service mutual that has not entered into a comparable contract during the period of three years ending with the day on which the contract referred to in subsection (1) is awarded.
- quarter
means a period of three months ending with 31 March, 30 June, 30 September or 31 December in any year;
- regulated authority
means— (a) a contracting authority, (b) another public authority, or (c) an authority outside the United Kingdom that the decision-maker considers to be equivalent;
- regulated below-threshold contract
means a below-threshold contract which is not—
- regulated health procurement
means the procurement of goods or services by a relevant authority that is subject to provision made under section 12ZB of the National Health Service Act 2006 (procurement of healthcare services etc for the health service in England), whether or not that provision is in force;
- regulated health service procurement in Wales
means the procurement of goods or services by a relevant authority that is subject to provision made under section 10A of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 (c. 42) (procurement of services etc. as part of the NHS in Wales), whether or not that provision is in force;
- relevant appropriate authority
means— (a) if the contracting authority is a devolved Welsh authority, the Welsh Ministers;
- relevant authority
means an authority to which section 17 of the 1988 Act applies other than a devolved Scottish authority;
- relevant contract
means a contract to which a regulated authority is party.
- relevant contracting authority
means a contracting authority other than—
- relevant contracts
means any contracts for the supply of goods, services or works to the contracting authority other than exempted contracts;
- relevant debarment information
means—
- relevant documents
means documents or other information that— (a) are specified or described in a notice under subsection (4) or (6), and (b) are in the possession or control of the recipient of the notice;
- relevant exclusion ground
has the meaning given in section 59.
- relevant joint venture
means a joint venture—
- relevant notice
means— (a) a tender notice, (b) a transparency notice, (c) a dynamic market notice in relation to the establishment of a dynamic market, (d) a contract details notice relating to a public contract, or (e) a contract change notice;
- relevant outsourcing contract
means a contract in relation to which conditions A to C are met.
- relevant scheduled air service
means an air service that— (a) operates between two airports within the United Kingdom or within the United Kingdom and Gibraltar, and (b) the Secretary of State considers to be necessary in order to maintain sufficient transport links between the areas served by the airports.
- relevant sub-contract
means a contract substantially for the purpose of performing (or contributing to the performance of) all or any part of the exempted contract;
- reporting period
means the period of 18 months beginning with the first day of the financial year referred to in subsection (1);
- required electronic form
means a form that— (a) complies with the standard for electronic invoicing approved and issued by the British Standards Institution in the document numbered BS EN 16931-1:2017 (Electronic invoicing - Part 1: Semantic data model of the core elements of an electronic invoice), and (b) uses a syntax which is listed as a syntax that complies with that standard in the document numbered PD CEN/TS 16931-2:2017 (Electronic invoicing - Part 2: List of syntaxes that comply with EN 16931-1) approved and issued by the British Standards Institution.
- research and development services
means services that consist of one or more of the following activities—
- reservable light touch services
means services of a kind specified in regulations under subsection (8).
- reserved matters
has the same meaning as in the Scotland Act 1998.
- school
means— (a) the governing body of a maintained school (see section 19(1) of the Education Act 2002);
- Scottish procurement legislation
means—
- section 109 recommendation
has the meaning given in section 109.
- sensitive commercial information
has the meaning given by section 94.
- sensitive equipment
means equipment for use for security purposes where— (a) the use or supply of the equipment may involve dealing with classified information, (b) the supply of the equipment requires access to a physical site or to other equipment as a result of which classified information is likely to be accessible to the supplier, or (c) the equipment contains classified information;
- sensitive services
means services performed for security purposes where performing the services— (a) involves dealing with classified information, or (b) requires access to a physical site or to equipment as a result of which sensitive equipment or classified information is likely to be accessible to the supplier, and includes the training of personnel to use sensitive equipment;
- sensitive works
means works undertaken for security purposes, where undertaking the works— (a) involves dealing with classified information, or (b) requires access to a physical site or to equipment as a result of which sensitive equipment or classified information is likely to be accessible to the supplier;
- shadow director
has the meaning given in section 251 of CA 2006.
- similar arrangement
includes, in relation to a dynamic market, a dynamic purchasing or qualification system.
- small and medium-sized enterprises
means suppliers that— (a) have fewer than 250 staff, and (b) have a turnover of an amount less than or equal to £44 million, or a balance sheet total of an amount less than or equal to £38 million;
- special regime contract
means— and a reference to a special regime contract of a particular kind is a reference to a special regime contract of a kind described in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d).
- specified
means specified in regulations made by an appropriate authority.
- specified activity
means an activity specified in paragraph 1(1), 2(1), 3(1) or 4;
- specified information
means information specified in regulations under section 95.
- specified regulations
means regulations to bring into force provisions regulating procurement by a devolved Welsh authority other than procurement under— but “specified regulations” does not include regulations to bring into force provisions in Part 7 (implementation of international obligations).
- specified set-aside proceedings
means proceedings under section 104(2) to—
- sub-central government authority
means a contracting authority that is not— (a) a central government authority, or (b) a private utility or a public undertaking;
- supplier
means an economic operator within the meaning of the relevant Scottish procurement legislation;
- supply
includes— (a) production, but not the production of gas in the form of extraction (as to which, see paragraph 6), and (b) generation and wholesale or retail sale.
- supported employment provider
means an organisation that operates wholly or partly for the purpose of providing employment, or employment-related support, to disabled or disadvantaged individuals where—
- tax
means a tax imposed under the law of any part of the United Kingdom, including national insurance contributions under—
- tax arrangements
has the meaning given in paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 16 to the Finance (No. 2) Act 2017.
- tender notice
means a notice setting out—
- tendering period
means the period beginning with the day following the day on which a contracting authority invites the submission of tenders as part of a competitive tendering procedure and ending with the day by which tenders must be submitted.
- terms of a covered procurement
means anything set out in a tender notice or associated tender documents, including any requirements of a competitive tendering procedure, conditions of participation or award criteria;
- the court
means— (a) in England and Wales, the High Court, (b) in Northern Ireland, the High Court, and (c) in Scotland, the Court of Session;
- the data protection legislation
has the same meaning as in the Data Protection Act 2018 (see section 3 of that Act).
- the national procurement policy statement
means the statement for the time being published under this section.
- the public service obligations regulations
has the meaning given by section 136(11) of the Railways Act 1993.
- the relevant Scottish procurement legislation
means the Scottish procurement legislation regulating the procurement of the contract.
- the Senedd
means Senedd Cymru.
- the Wales procurement policy statement
means the statement for the time being published under this section.
- transparency notice
means a notice setting out—
- treaty state
means a state, territory or organisation of states or territories that is party to an international agreement specified in Schedule 9, other than the United Kingdom.
- treaty state supplier
means a supplier that is entitled to the benefits of an international agreement specified in Schedule 9.
- United Kingdom standard
means a standard that is— (a) set by the British Standards Institution, or (b) primarily developed for use in the United Kingdom, or part of the United Kingdom.
- United Kingdom supplier
means a supplier that is—
- user choice services
means services—
- utilities contract
means a contract for the supply of goods, services or works wholly or mainly for the purpose of a utility activity.
- utilities dynamic market
means a dynamic market established only for the purpose of the award of utilities contracts by utilities.
- utility
means—
- utility activity
means an activity that—
- VAT
means value added tax;
- Wales
has the meaning given in section 158 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (when read by reference to section 157A(9) of that Act).
- working day
means a day other than— (a) a Saturday or Sunday, or (b) a day which is a bank holiday in any part of the United Kingdom under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971.
- works
has the meaning given by regulations made by an appropriate authority.