PUBLIC CONTRACT PROJECT : THE GROWTH PUBLIC CONTRACT PROJECT
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If your company has been involved in the tender process for major UK infrastructure projects, such as the cancelled A1 dualling, or in public procurement for maritime assets, including the recent Scottish ferry contracts, and you have suffered financial loss due to abrupt project cancellations or believe the procurement process was flawed, you may have grounds for a legal claim. COCOO is supporting businesses that have been harmed by what we have identified as potential irregularities and irrational decision-making in public procurement. We are seeking to hold public bodies accountable for the commercial damage caused by these failures. We invite the principals of any such firm to contact our legal team for a confidential, no-obligation consultation. By sharing details of your experience and any relevant contractual or tender documents, you will allow us to assess the viability of a claim and explore avenues for recovering your costs and damages. Your participation will not only help your business, but will also contribute to our wider campaign for a fairer and more transparent public procurement system in the United Kingdom.
UK TENDERS
My search of the UK’s public procurement portals, such as Contracts Finder and the Find a Tender service, reveals that while there are no tenders that specifically mention the A1 cancellation or the Isle of Wight ferries by name, there are several strategic frameworks and specific consultancy opportunities that are highly relevant to the problems we have identified.
The most significant opportunities lie in securing a place on large-scale, long-term government frameworks. The Crown Commercial Service’s ‘Management Consultancy Framework’ is a prime example. This framework is the main route through which central government and public sector bodies procure advisory services. By successfully bidding for a place on this framework, we would be pre-qualified to offer solutions directly targeting the failures seen in our case. For instance, we could offer ‘Procurement and Supply Chain’ consultancy services to bodies like Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, using our findings from the flawed ferry procurement as a case study for our expertise. Similarly, we could propose ‘Complex Transformation’ advisory services to the Department for Transport, helping them redesign their project appraisal methodology to avoid the irrational outcomes seen with the A1 project. These frameworks are periodically renewed, and we must monitor the procurement pipeline for the next iteration.
A more agile route to market is the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for professional services. A relevant example is the ‘Public Sector Research and Insights DPS’. A key advantage of a DPS is that suppliers can apply to join at any time, meaning there is no fixed deadline. By gaining a place on this system, we could be commissioned to conduct market studies and analyses. This aligns perfectly with our work on the Isle of Wight ferry market; we could offer to provide a local or combined authority with a formal market study into the competition failures, providing the evidence base for regulatory intervention.
In terms of specific, time-limited tender offers, my search has identified a current opportunity for ‘Economic Advisory Services’ published by a central government department on the Find a Tender service, with a response deadline in six weeks. This tender seeks external experts to advise on the economic case and value-for-money assessments of major infrastructure projects. This is a direct match for the core issue in our A1 infrastructure case. Our bid would be exceptionally strong, as we can use the A1 cancellation as a real-world example of the catastrophic failure of existing appraisal methods and position our team as offering a more robust and realistic approach.
Finally, in all our proposals and tender responses, we must weave in the principles of good governance outlined in the constitutional documents we have reviewed. Our proposed solutions—whether for procurement reform, project management, or market regulation—are not merely commercial services. They are mechanisms to help public bodies fulfil their fundamental duties of ensuring transparency, accountability, and the effective use of public funds. By framing our offer in this way, our proposal transcends a simple bid and becomes a blueprint for better governance, significantly increasing its appeal and our chances of success