R (Good Law Project Ltd) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Subject Matter

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT — Contract award procedure — Public services contract — Extreme urgency caused by global pandemic preventing Secretary of State from using normal competition procedures to award contracts for supply of personal protective equipment — Secretary of State adopting open source procurement process allowing suppliers to make offers not circumscribed by fixed tender conditions — Potential supplier required to complete online form on government portal — Alternative procedure operated for suppliers referred by some politicians and senior officials — Whether alternative procedure giving referred suppliers unfair advantage in breach of principles of equal treatment and transparency — Whether principles applicable in circumstances of extreme urgency — Whether award of contracts to suppliers referred under procedure to be declared unlawful — Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/102), regs 18, 32(2)(c)

[2022] EWHC 46 (TCC); [2022] PTSR 644; [2022] WLR(D) 21; The Times, 8 March 2022, QBD