Debarment Review Service DRS
The Debarment Review Service (DRS) began operating on February 24, 2025, it was set-up as part of the Procurement Review Unit (PRU), alongside the introduction the Procurement Act 2023 which came into force on the same day. The purpose of the service is to protect public procurement from suppliers that pose risk, by carrying out a centralised process of considering suppliers for possible debarment. The PRU consists of three services:
- Debarment Review Service (DRS): as described above.
- Public Procurement Review Service (PPRS): Introduced in 2011 and focuses on suppliers’ complaints about specific procurement(s) and late payments.
- Procurement Compliance Service (PCS): This service investigates contracting authorities’ compliance with the requirements of the Procurement Act 2023 and may issue (and if desired, publish) statutory recommendations to the contracting authority being investigated and/or guidance that applies more generally to contracting authorities following the conclusion of an investigation.
The Act enables the DRS to undertake investigations of suppliers (on behalf of a Minister of the Crown) to establish whether they are an excluded or excludable* supplier for the purpose of subsequently considering whether the supplier should be added to the debarment list. The decision to add a supplier to the debarment list can only be taken by a Minister of the Crown.
The DRS may investigate suppliers in relation to all exclusion grounds, except the two national security-related exclusion grounds (para 35 of Schedule 6 and para 14 of Schedule 7). The National Security Unit for Procurement (NSUP) has the remit of investigating suppliers in relation to the two national security-related grounds.
For further information see the Government guidance on the Procurement Review Unit here.
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- Best value procurement.
- Common minimum standards.
- Critical service contracts.
- Critical suppliers.
- Crown Commercial Service CCS.
- Crown Representative.
- Dynamic purchasing system under the Single Procurement Document (Scotland).
- Exclusion grounds under the Single Procurement Document (Scotland).
- Fair payment practices.
- Green public procurement.
- Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
- Integrated Supply Team.
- Management Consultancy Framework MCF.
- Managing the procurement process.
- Major Projects Authority.
- Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT).
- National Infrastructure Plan.
- Output-based specification.
- Procurement Act 2023.
- Procurement Compliance Service PCS.
- Procurement Policy Note 12/15.
- Procurement policy note PPN.
- Procurement route.
- Public.
- Public body.
- Public contract.
- Public procurement.
- Public Procurement Review Service PPRS.
- Public project definition.
- Public sector dependent suppliers.
- Publicly subsidised project.
- Restricted procedure under the Single Procurement Document (Scotland).
- SMEs and government contracts.
- Sourcing playbook.
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