Procurement

House of Lords written question – answered at on 7 January 2003.

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Photo of Lord Dholakia Lord Dholakia Party Chair, Liberal Democrats

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will review their position in the light of the recent European Court of Justice ruling in the Helsinki Concordia Bus case (C513-99) which reinforces the principles of the Commission v. France ruling (C225-98) relating to the scope for inclusion of social consideration in the award stage of a contract.

Photo of Lord Sainsbury of Turville Lord Sainsbury of Turville Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Science and Innovation), Department of Trade and Industry, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Trade and Industry) (Science and Innovation)

No review is considered necessary. Whilst the Court (in case C-513/99) stated that it is permitted in principle to use criteria "relating to the preservation of the environment" when awarding a contract, the judgment makes it clear that such criteria must be linked to the subject of the contract, not confer an unrestricted freedom of choice on the authority, be expressly mentioned in the contract documents or the tender notice, and comply with all the fundamental principles of Community law, in particular of non-discriminiation. This is in line with the UK's understanding of the position under the current EC procurement directives. The judgment does not, therefore, require a change to the normal value-for-money criteria permitted at contract award stage. The Commission v. France ruling (C-225/98) does not have any direct bearing on the use of environmenal award criteria. There, the Court held that it might be possible in limited circumstances for a condition relating to unemployment to be used as a contract ward criterion if it complied with the fundamental principles of Community law and the rules on advertising.

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