Recruiters who tendered for a NHS PASA (Purchasing & Supply Agency) framework agreement may have to go through the whole process again after PASA decided to scrap the existing process just weeks before the successful agencies were due to be announced. 

The scrapped framework agreement is to be replaced, and a new tender process is due to begin in May. The decision will affect recruiters who tendered for the supply of non-medical, non-clinical temporary and fixed-term staff, such as admin, finance, HR, IT, drivers and HR.  The number of recruiters affected is likely to be considerable as it is understood that PASA received several hundred expressions of interest from recruiters.

Adrian Klean, managing director at Lifeline Personnel, which tendered for the original framework agreement, told Recruiter: “It’s a shame that we have to go through the whole process again.”

Tom Hadley, Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) director of external relations, criticised PASA for “pulling the plug” on the process at this late stage. 

Hadley told Recruiter: “A lot of agencies have put a lot of time, effort and money into this process. Agencies have played their part, I would have thought PASA would have played theirs.”

Hadley says he understands the reason PASA decided to start the tender process again was because of legal concerns raised by PASA’s lawyers.

In a statement on its website, PASA says: “We will be launching a new tender process for the supply of non-medical, non-clinical temporary and fixed-term staff, with an OJEU advertisement expected in May 2009. This new framework will begin later this year, replacing the current professional and administrative services and ancillary agreements.”

Recruiter contacted PASA, but had not received a response by time the story was filed.