Chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has just announced new public procurement rules applicable to those supplying goods and services to the public sector under tenders issued from 1 April 2013.

The legal framework for public procurement is set out in a statutory instrument (S12006/5); its aim is compliance with EU law by ensuring that prohibitions drafted into a tender are neither arbitrary nor discriminatory. The idea now is that suppliers should not have a history of being engaged in tax avoidance – which they will need to certify. HMRC has issued draft guidelines.