BPF welcomes victory over EU procurement red tape

The property industry has welcomed plans to change how public bodies buy services from the private sector, following an announcement by the Cabinet Office that it plans to ‘revolutionise’ the procurement system.

EU rules designed to encourage fair competition - sometimes further gold-plated by regulations within the UK - force councils to go through a costly procurement process which has derailed vital regeneration projects. The BPF has long called for the government to change these rules. For developers this would cut the cost of public / private partnership projects and so encourage more of them to get involved in regeneration schemes that can drive growth and create jobs.

Welcoming the announcement, Liz Peace chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “In the current economic climate few developers can afford to get involved in a costly tendering process. With the Government pinning its hopes on major infrastructure and public sector projects to lift the country out of recession it is essential that barriers to private sector participation are removed.

Unfortunately the costly and often disproportionate procurement requirements that currently exist present a formidable hurdle.

"In short, higher costs mean fewer bids. Government should be congratulated for seeking to make changes to this over the top procurement process which for too long has trumped common sense. We can no longer afford to see vital development held back in a complicated web of EU red tape.”