A key point that was not addressed in the podcast on www.building.co.uk was the future ability of the “guilty” contractors to tender for public works

Although the regulator has said that this is not a problem for him, the EU has quite a different view. It is clear that any “actor” caught undertaking fraudulent activity is prohibited from tendering for public works. How would this affect the likes of Kier, Balfour Beatty, et al?

The European procurement rules enjoinder companies, so for a company to say that it was a small subsidiary that was involved and not the main operating arm of the business would have no effect – the entire business would be affected, right down to the smallest maintenance division. There is an argument that even the directors of the business are involved in the ban, so moving from a guilty company to an innocent one could, potentially, bar the innocent company from future public works.

David McCormick

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