A message from the Business Secretary: Supplying the public sector after the end of the Transition Period
27 November 2020
Over the last few weeks, I have written to you about the changes
coming from 1 January 2021 and I want to thank those of you who have already
taken steps to prepare.
If you
have not started preparing yet, you need to start now. You can find out what
actions you may need to take by using the checker tool at gov.uk/transition and keep up to date with
regular business readiness bulletins too.
With
the end of the transition period now 36 days away, it is very important that
your business is ready for our new relationship with the EU. In this week’s
letter, I want to focus on new rules regarding public procurement.
The way
that opportunities to supply the UK public sector are advertised is about to
change. From 23:00 on 31 December 2020, we will publish information on public
sector contract opportunities in the UK, on the new Find a Tender Service (FTS):
- FTS is
free to use and replaces the role of Tenders Electronic Daily, the
Official Journal of the EU (OJEU/TED) for procurements in the UK.
- FTS will
work alongside existing procurement portals such as Contracts Finder, MOD Defence Contracts Online, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI which can be used to access a
wide range of opportunities to supply the public sector.
- Existing
Contracts Finder account holders will be able to use the same login
credentials for Find a Tender. You can register now in
preparation for its launch on 31 December.
If you
wish to access public sector contract opportunities in the EU, you may continue
to do so via OJEU/TED. Information about procurements
launched by UK contracting authorities before 23:00 on 31 December 2020 will be
available via OJEU/TED or the existing portals mentioned
above. Further guidance is available here.
Enquiries can be directed to info@crowncommercial.gov.uk
During
these turbulent times, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for
everything you are doing to prepare for our new trading relationship with the
EU. Making changes now will ensure you are ready to take advantage of the new
legal and economic freedoms that being an independent trading nation will bring.
Yours
sincerely,
Rt Hon
Alok Sharma MP
Secretary
of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.
