Edenred (UK Group) Limited (Appellants) and another v Her Majesty’s Treasury and others (Respondents) [2015] UKSC 45, on appeal from [2015] EWCA Civ 236: the Appellants unsuccessfully sought to prevent the modification of a public contract on the basis that it was in breach of EU procurement law
This appeal concerned a challenge to the decision by HM Treasury (‘HMT’) to use National Savings and Investments (‘NS&I’) to provide the necessary accounts services for HMRC to deliver the new government policy of tax-free childcare (‘TFC’). This required an amendment to a contract between NS&I and Atos IT Services Ltd (‘Atos’), NS&I having entered into an outsourcing contract for its own services with Atos in 2013. The Appellants argued that the proposed amendment of the contract between NS&I and Atos would involve the direct award of a public contract without a tender procedure contrary to EU and UK public procurement law. Each of the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court have held that there is no material variation of the existing public contract and no need for a further procurement process.
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