The government announced in February that it was looking to blacklist seven companies involved in the Grenfell Tower refurbishment that made a simple kitchen appliance fire turn so lethal back in 2017, resulting in 72 fatalities. 聽
It planned to use debarment powers that had just become available to it under the Procurement Act 2023, stopping the companies getting any public contracts.聽
However, it has now put that action on pause to prevent any impact on criminal investigations that are still continuing.
The Metropolitan Police launched a criminal investigation following the Grenfell Tower fire on 14th June 2017, with a team of 180 officers and staff dedicated to identifying any offences and those responsible.
The Met and the Crown Prosecution Service informed the Cabinet Office that continuing the debarment investigations could unintentionally prejudice the criminal investigation and any future criminal proceedings.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden told parliament of the need to maintain the integrity of criminal proceedings in the pursuit of justice.
The Procurement Act 2023 Act allows the government to investigate suppliers and, if certain grounds are met, add them to a published debarment list. Public sector organisations covered by the act must have regard to this list when carrying out new procurements that are covered by the act鈥檚 remit, and can rely on this list to exclude a supplier where appropriate.
When a supplier is added to the debarment list on a mandatory ground, they must be excluded from all procurement activity within scope of the act, except in limited circumstances. If an organisation is convicted of a criminal offence that is a mandatory exclusion ground under the act, this would potentially enable the government to take stronger action.
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