To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that companies under investigation by a public inquiry are subject to enhanced scrutiny or restrictions in future public procurement processes.
Answered on
1 July 2025
The Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract. Contracting authorities can take account of any criticism of suppliers in public inquiry findings when considering whether an exclusion ground applies as part of this process.