New NHS Provider Selection Regime for Wales published

The Welsh Government has this week (13 August 2024) published the draft Health and Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) (Wales) Regulations 2024, which remain subject to Senedd agreement,together with draft statutory guidance. 

This follows the entry into force of the parallel English regime which has applied since 1 January 2024 and removed the procurement of certain healthcare services from the scope of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the Procurement Act 2023, which is due to come into force in late October. 

Essentially, the Welsh regime mirrors the English PSR which we have reported on here: NHS Provider Selection Regime (PSR) Hub (burges-salmon.com)

The key differences between the English and Welsh PSRs are that the direct award procedures are renamed 

• Direct Award A, which allows a contract to be awarded directly when there is only one provider that is capable of delivering the services  becomes “Direct Award 1”;
• Direct Award B, which allows the direct award of contracts where the patient has the legal right to choose its provider, is absent. This is because there is no parallel Patient Choice regime in Wales as there is in England.
• Direct Award C, which allows the direct award of a contract to an existing provider that is providing the contract to a sufficient standard (and is likely to continue to do so), becomes “Direct Award 2”. 

For more information about the PSR, see our NHS Provider Selection Regime (PSR) Hub (burges-salmon.com). If you have any questions, please contact Patrick Parkin or your usual Burges Salmon contact.