PCS Referral

Please note: The PCS takes referrals regarding systemic or institutional instances of non-compliance.

We only review matters covered by the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23); we do not investigate anything carried out under other or previous legislation (e.g. Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 etc).

Examples of PCS referrals:

• Systemic issues: Multiple different procurements under PA23 showing similar compliance issues across several different contracting authorities.
• Institutional issues: A single contracting authority demonstrating non-compliance across several different procurements under the PA23.

We may also consider a referral involving a single procurement where there is evidence it is part of a broader, systemic or institutional instance of non-compliance. We ask that you review our Scope and Remit (opens in new tab) to understand if your concern falls within our jurisdiction.

If you are a supplier with a vested interest in an individual procurement, payment or contract management issue use the Public Procurement Review Service (opens in new tab) instead.

PCS have received some referrals where AI has been used to generate the concerns raised, which resulted in a loss of context and a protracted triage time.
While AI can be a helpful starting point, it often fails to clearly highlight the specific issue you want to share. 
To help PCS understand whether your case can be investigated, we strongly encourage you to write your referral in your own words.

To proceed with a PCS referral, answer the question below and select ‘Continue’.