Regulation 24 Publication of notices
Any requirement under a regulation specified at paragraph (13) for a relevant authority to submit a notice for publication is met by the relevant authority publishing it on the central digital platform.
The requirement in paragraph (1) is met where the relevant authority has first submitted the notice to the Welsh digital platform and—
the Minister for the Cabinet Office has informed the relevant authority that the notice has successfully been submitted for publication to the central digital platform, or
the notice is capable of being accessed by providers and members of the public on the central digital platform.
Welsh digital platform unavailable
Paragraph (4) applies if a relevant authority has attempted to comply with paragraph (2), but the Welsh digital platform is unavailable so that the requirement in paragraph (2) cannot be met.
A relevant authority may publish a notice—
on the central digital platform, or
on the central digital platform by using an alternative online system.
Where paragraph (4) applies the requirement in paragraph (1) will be met where—
the Minister for the Cabinet Office has informed the relevant authority that the notice or information has successfully been submitted for publication to the central digital platform, or
the notice or information is capable of being accessed by providers and members of the public on the central digital platform.
Central digital platform unavailable
Paragraph (7) applies where a relevant authority has attempted to comply with paragraph (2) but—
the relevant authority has not received confirmation from the Minister for the Cabinet Office that the notice has successfully been published on the central digital platform, and
the notice is not capable of being accessed by providers and members of the public on the central digital platform.
The relevant authority may submit a notice for publication on the Welsh digital platform only or, if unavailable, on an alternative online system—
in the case of a notice of the award of a contract or notice of the modification of a contract under regulation 14 (urgent award or modification of a contract), after 4 hours have passed since the notice was submitted for publication to the central digital platform, or
in the case of any other notice, after 48 hours have passed since the notice was submitted for publication to the central digital platform.
Where paragraph (7) applies the relevant authority is to be treated as meeting for the time being the requirement in paragraph (1).
The relevant authority is no longer to be treated as meeting for the time being the requirement in paragraph (1) if the Minister for the Cabinet Office informs the relevant authority that the submission of the notice to the central digital platform has been rejected.
A relevant authority which uses the Welsh digital platform or an alternative online system under paragraph (7) must cooperate with the Minister for the Cabinet Office to ensure that the notice is subsequently—
published on the central digital platform, and
capable of being accessed by providers and members of the public on that system.
An “alternative online system” is an online system for publishing procurement information which is—
free of charge and readily accessible to providers and members of the public,
accessible to disabled people, and
not the central digital platform or the Welsh digital platform.
Nothing in this regulation prevents a relevant authority from publishing the notice somewhere other than on the central digital platform, the Welsh digital platform or an alternative online system, but the relevant authority must not do so before complying with the requirements of paragraph (1).
The regulations specified at paragraph (1) are—
regulation 8(4) (notice of intention to make an award under the Direct Award Process 1),
regulation 8(10) (notice of award of contract under the Direct Award Process 1),
regulation 9(5) (notice of intention to make an award under the Direct Award Process 2),
regulation 9(11) (notice of the award of the contract under the Direct Award Process 2),
regulation 10(3) (notice of intention to follow the Most Suitable Provider Process),
regulation 10(10) (notice of intention to make an award to the chosen provider under the Most Suitable Provider Process),
regulation 10(16) (notice of the award of the contract under the Most Suitable Provider Process),
regulation 11(5) (notice inviting offers to provide relevant health services for a contract or framework agreement using the Competitive Process),
regulation 11(11) (notice of intention to make an award to the chosen provider or conclude a framework agreement using the Competitive Process),
regulation 11(17) (notice of the award of the contract or conclusion of framework agreement following the Competitive Process),
regulation 13(6) (notice of a modification),
regulation 14(5) (notice of urgent award or modification),
regulation 15(4) (notice of decision to abandon a procurement),
regulation 19(2)(b) (notice of the award of a contract based on a single-provider framework agreement),
regulation 20(11) (notice of intention to award a contract based on a framework agreement with a competition),
regulation 20(18) (notice of the award of a contract based on a framework agreement with a competition),
regulation 21(3) (notice of intention to award a contract based on a framework agreement without a competition), and
regulation 21(9) (notice of the award of a contract based on a framework agreement without a competition).
In this regulation—
“unavailable” means that the Welsh digital platform has not been operational for not less than 4 hours;
“central digital platform” means the online system established by the Minister for the Cabinet Officef1;
“Welsh digital platform” means the online system provided by the Welsh Government for use by relevant authorities to whom these Regulations applyf2.
Annotations
Footnotes
- f1
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The central digital platform which may be accessed at http://www.gov.uk/find-tender.
- f2
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The Welsh digital platform which may be accessed at https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/.