Procurement
CCP procurement cases
The Principles and Rules of Co-operation and Competition place obligations on healthcare commissioners (mostly Primary Care Trusts) about the procurement of healthcare services. For example:
- Commissioners should commission services from the providers who are best placed to deliver the needs of their patients and population
- Commissioning and procurement should be transparent and non-discriminatory
- Commissioners should foster patient choice.
Complaints about procurement should first be addressed through the dispute resolution procedures put in place by Strategic Health Authorities and the relevant primary care trust. If parties are not satisfied with a decision made by the Strategic Health Authority, an appeal can be made to the CCP.
Acceptance criteria
For a procurement dispute appeal to be accepted by the CCP, we must judge that:
- The subject matter comes within the ambit of the Principles and Rules of Co-operation and Competition
- The CCP is the most appropriate body to consider or resolve the issue
- The relevant parties have made full and frank disclosure of all relevant and applicable information
- No legal proceedings have commenced in relation to the matter
- The dispute is not trivial, vexatious or an abuse of the CCP's procedures
- The Appeal has been made within 25 days of a decision being taken by the relevant SHA.
The procurement dispute appeal process
The procurement dispute appeal process is governed by the CCP's Rules of Procedure and procurement dispute appeal guidelines.
Stages and deadlines
| Stage | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Complaint submitted to CCP | Day 0 |
| Notice of acceptance published | Within 10 working days |
| Report to the relevant sponsor | Within 40 working days |
The timetable for a procurement dispute appeal may be suspended by the CCP to allow for the provision of further information, or it may be extended with the approval of the relevant sponsor.
Read the guidance document
We have published draft guidelines that set out the procurement dispute appeal process.
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