Tenders will still have to be advertised even if the UK no longer has to abide by OJEU requirements after it has left the EU, a leading framework provided has predicted.

Discussing post-Brexit procurement at the Construction Frameworks Conference Tim Oakley, Head of Consultancy at LHC, predicted that public advertisements would remain a feature of procurement to ensure the transparency of the process.

But any shake-up of procurement post-Brexit needed to maintain flexibility, he said: ‘’We need a flexible framework that allows the customer to use it how they want to use it. Don’t let regulations get in the way of what you want to do.’’

Dr Kamala Dawar, Senior Lecturer in International Trade and Commercial Law at the University of Sussex, warned public bodies about the risks of using public procurement to promote Government policies.

She said: ‘’If you overload the procurement process with environmental and social criteria and industrial strategy policies, you could end up with a moribund industry.’’

Neil Butter, Head of Procurement at PFH, said public commissioning bodies has to share responsibility for delivering longer term outcomes when shaping frameworks such ‘not just mandating a number of apprentices when a contract is being carried out but looking at the longer-term employment.’