Cases - General Building and Maintenance plc v Greenwich Borough Council

Record details

Name
General Building and Maintenance plc v Greenwich Borough Council
Date
(1994)
Citation
65 BLR 57
Legislation
Keywords
Tendering and procurement - Public Contracts Regulations 2006 - Public Works Contracts Regulations 1991
Summary

The Council sought to invite tenders for a long-term £12 million repair and maintenance contract for its housing stock, which was a public works contract under the then Public Works Contracts Regulations 1991 (see now the Public Contracts Regulations 2006). The Council adopted the restricted procedure under the Regulations by which requests could be received for invitations to tender, excluding some potential tenderers on limited grounds. General Building and Maintenance (GBM) was one of 104 applicants, but was not invited to tender, on the ground that its health and safety statement was inadequate. GBM sought an injunction restraining the award of the contract until GBM had been invited to tender, arguing that the Regulations did not permit health and safety to be taken into account. The court rejected GBM's application, holding that health and safety could be treated as part of 'technical capacity' within the Regulations. The Council had information on GBM's health and safety capacity and was not in breach of the Regulations in considering it. The court observed that:

'For many contractors, and certainly for building contractors such as the plaintiffs, ability competently to carry out the operations of their trade in these days includes ability to carry them out with proper regard for the health and safety of those whom they employ and members of the public whom they affect.'