New guidance emphasises that authorities may need to procure goods and services urgently following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The note states: "It is already clear that in these exceptional circumstances, authorities may need to procure goods, services and works with extreme urgency. Authorities are permitted to do this using regulation 32 (2) (c) under the Public Contract Regulations 2015."

This includes awarding contracts without competition due to extreme urgency and call off from an existing framework agreement.

Click here for the full text of the policy note.