Call to relax EU tendering directives
28 August 2012
European Union rules should be changed to make it easier for public bodies to alter the length of contracts when they are due to be re-tendered, according to a Whitehall chief.
David Smith, commercial director at the Department for Work and Pensions, told the conference that having to stick rigidly to the original renewal date created turmoil on both sides of the deal at a time when they least needed it.
In a session titled “Is there life after PFI?”, Smith said many long-term deals agreed in the early 1990s, many involving big IT...