Written statement by (Secretary of State
for Defence) on Single
Source Procurement Legislation: Review
Section 37 of the Defence Reform Act (2014)
requires me to carry out a review of the single
source procurement legislation (the DRA and the
Single Source Contract Regulations 2014) within
three years of it coming into force on 18 December
2014. In meeting this obligation, I would like to
express my appreciation for the work and support
provided by the Single Source Regulations Office
(SSRO) which undertook an extensive consultation
process with stakeholders from mid-2016 onwards. I
have had regard to the recommendations on changes
to the legislation provided by the SSRO in June
2017.
Following further engagement with the SSRO and
industry, my review of the legislation has now been
completed. It identified a number of areas where
changes to the legislation could improve the
operation of the regime. Further work will now be
needed on the detail of how these could be
implemented. In particular, we will need to assure
ourselves that the changes result in the intended
benefits without imposing unnecessary additional
burdens on the Ministry of Defence or suppliers,
and that the benefits justify the use of
Parliament’s time. I will make a further statement
on this in early 2018.
