This is a key question for English HEIs – the burden and limitations of the EU Procurement Regulations are seen as a key stumbling block to freeing up procurement processes within HEIs to achieve optimum efficiency.
I am sure that those of you following this debate will recall David Willetts’ announcement in the autumn, where he explained that “we [the government] believe EU public procurement rules will no longer apply to the vast majority of our universities” [on the grounds that under the new regime less that 50% of their funding will be public funding]. Of course it is clear from this statement that individual universities will still have to make a judgement based on the individual circumstances of their organisation. Being cautious accountants, BUFDG has been working with UUK to ascertain whether BIS can share their legal advice, to assist HEIs in making this assessment. Unfortunately this line of enquiry has not produced any firm evidence. Although we are aware that some universities have already taken individual advice, we are keen to avoid duplication of effort and so BUFDG is planning to seek legal advice for the benefit of the sector (in all parts of the UK) - we are currently putting together the instructions for this and we will publish the outcome as soon as it is available. If you have any particular concerns or interest in this area then please get in touch.