You’re barred! Exclusion from UK public tenders on competition law grounds

Under the UK Procurement Act 2023, which entered into force on 24 February 2025, companies face the new risk of being excluded from public tenders for competition law infringements.  In this video, Mark Daniels and Richard Whish KC discuss the relevant provisions of the Procurement Act and related guidance.

The new regime provides for mandatory exclusion for cartel activity and discretionary exclusion for potential competition law infringements, with the discretionary regime catching suspected cartel and non-cartel infringements.  The video includes discussion of key differences between the mandatory and voluntary exclusion provisions, as well as steps parties can take to “self-clean” to avoid exclusion if involved in an infringement of competition law.  Also discussed is the risk of exclusion for infringements by a party’s associated or connected persons.