Publication of information on Contracts Finder where contract notices are used under reg.106 Public Contracts Regulations 2015

Reg.106 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR2015) imposes obligations to publish information on Contracts Finder where contract notices are used. The rules in this regulation are aimed at ensuring transparency through the domestic contract opportunities portal as soon as possible after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union or a reasonable period after they sent notice to the EU Publications Office (see Pedro's comments here). 

Under reg.106(1), a contracting authority that has sent a contract notice to the EU Publications Office must have relevant information published on Contracts Finder within 24 hours of the time when the contracting authority becomes entitled to publish the notice at national level in accordance with reg.52(3) and (4) PCR2015.

Interestingly, while the contract notices sent for EU publication need to have the content of part C of Annex 5 to Directive 2014/24 (reg.49 PCR2015); reg.106(2) simply establishes that the information to be published on Contracts Finder shall include at least the following: (a) the internet address at which the procurement documents are accessible; (b) the time by which any interested economic operator must respond if it wishes to be considered; (c) how and to whom such an economic operator is to respond; and (d) any other requirements for participating in the procurement. 

This information is much more limited than that required by reg.49 and creates an illusion of simplification by allowing contracting authorities to reduce the amount of information in the domestic publication. In my view, this does not make much sense, as there is no added cost of republishing all the information that had been sent to the OJEU. The logic of this apparent simplification becomes apparent once reg.110 PCR2015 extends the obligation to publish to contracts below the EU thresholds in reg.5 PCR2015. Nonetheless, there seems to be no good reason to restrict the information published on Contracts Finder where the notices refer to above EU thresholds contracts.

As required by reg.106(3) PCR2015, in complying with this publication requirement, contracting authorities shall have regard to any guidance issued by the Minister for the Cabinet Office in relation to the form and manner in which information is to be published on Contracts Finder. Such guidance is available here.

Reg.106(4) and (5) PCR2015 create space for future developments whereby contracting authorities would comply automatically with the requirements to publish in Contracts Finder if the Cabinet Office makes arrangements whereby
the information referred in reg.106(2) would, without further action by contracting authorities, be extracted and published on Contracts Finder following the publication of contract notices by the EU Publications Office. In those circumstances, contracting authorities would be deemed to have complied with reg.106(1) by virtue of sending the contract notice to the EU Publications Office for publication in accordance with reg.51.  

However, such automatic system would only have those effects if the guidance issued by the Minister for the Cabinet Office in relation to the form and manner in which information is to be published on Contracts Finder so confirms. Unfortunately, that is not the case under the current guidance of February 2015. Hence, reg.106(4) and (5) do not, for now, alter the obligations under the first three paragraphs of reg.106 PCR2015.