Registered social landlords (RSLs) will have to change the way they procure construction services because the UK will most likely start to treat them as public bodies, a solicitor has warned.
Now, RSLs don’t have to advertise jobs in the Official Journal of the European Union because they’re not considered public bodies, but the European Commission is taking the UK to court in a bid to change that - and the government plans to concede rather than fight according to Simon Randall, a solicitor with firm Lawrence Graham.

Randall, quoting contacts in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, said a decision would be announced at any moment.

He said RSLs will have to allow enough time to advertise in the Official Journal and process the response from bidders. He added that the new rules may mean RSLs have less flexibility in negotiating contracts. There may also be implications for longer term partnering contracts.

The move comes following the EC’s success against France in 2001 in which the court ruled that certain low-rent housing bodies in that country were public. The case hinged on how involved the state was in managing the body.

Source

Construction Manager