NAVCA tells voluntary and community sector to get involved in EU Procurement consultation
NAVCA is warning voluntary and community sector organisations to make sure they do not ignore a vital EU consultation on Procurement rules. The European has been consulting on modernising public procurement. NAVCA is encouraging voluntary and community sector organisation to make sure they get involved in this debate even if they missed the deadline for initial responses which was on Monday (18 April).
Alongside the consultation, the European Commission is undertaking a review of the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the European public procurement rules. This will culminate in a conference at the end of June that will shape future legislation.
NAVCA are campaigning for two major changes to the legislation to help local charities and voluntary organisations. Firstly, because some public services are best suited to being delivered by organisations that are rooted and based within the communities served, NAVCA want these to be excluded from the EU commissioning framework. Secondly, NAVCA want to make it easier for statutory bodies to include social value clauses within procurement processes.
Neil Cleeveley, NAVCA’s Director of Policy and Communications, said:
“It would be easy to ignore this consultation as it seems so remote - but doing so will be a major mistake. EU procurement rules have a massive impact on charities and voluntary organisations, which are increasingly involved in the delivery of public services. We need to have a say on this consultation as it is a vital issue for so many voluntary and community sector groups.
“Too many public bodies follow the full blown procurement procedures when they don’t need to. The review and consultation shows that the EU is aware of the problems many local charities and small businesses have with commissioning. I would urge all local charities and voluntary organisations to contact their MEPs to highlight the changes to the rules that will help their work in local communities.”
Read NAVCA’s consulation response
