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Written question asked by Grahame Morris (Labour) on Wednesday, 12 July 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 17 July 2023 (named day). It was answered by Alex Burghart (Conservative) on Monday, 17 July 2023 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Public Sector: Contracts for Services

Question

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department is taking steps to prevent public contracts being awarded to companies that blacklist workers.

Answer

The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010 prohibit the compilation, usage, sale or supply of blacklists. The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 contain exclusion grounds which allow contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from procurements where their tender does not comply with labour law or where the supplier is guilty of grave professional misconduct. A breach of the Blacklists Regulations on a particular tender would render the supplier liable to exclusion and a breach more widely may amount to grave professional misconduct.

In all cases, individual departments and other public sector bodies are responsible for their own decisions on these matters

The Procurement Bill introduced by the Government, currently in the final stages of debate in Parliament, builds on and clarifies the exclusions measures in the existing regime. This includes specific measures enabling the exclusion of suppliers for labour market misconduct and professional misconduct.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
193583
Session
2022-23
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Contracts for services Public sector Vetting
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk