After the European Commission had published its proposals for the reform of public procurement legislation in December 2011the task and finish group explored how the proposed changes could impact upon public procurement in Wales, and how they could address issues such as:

• the involvement of more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including social enterprises, in public procurement;
• the use of public procurement to advance other policy objectives, e.g. social and environmental policies;
• complexity and flexibility within the public procurement system.

The Committee invited views on the following questions:

• how effectively are the current procurement Regulations working in Wales, both from a supplier/contractor and purchasing authority perspective?
• how would the proposed changes to the relevant EU Directives impact upon public procurement in Wales, including the following issues:

·  SME (including social enterprise) involvement in public procurement;

·  the use of public procurement to advance other (e.g. social and environmental) policy objectives;

·  the complexity and flexibility of existing procurement rules;

·  value for money for the purchasing authority?

• how should the EU procurement Directives and the implementing regulations and codes of practice in Wales be modernised to meet the needs of Welsh suppliers/contractors and purchasing authorities, and maximise the capacity of Welsh companies to meet the challenges of the procurement rules?  In particular how should regulations and/or guidance be re-framed for contracts falling below the procurement thresholds set by EU Directives?