Bid-rigging: CC appeal to councils not to 'blacklist' firms

The Construction Confederation has appealed to local authorities not to blacklist firms named in the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) bid-rigging probe.

The group’s chief executive Stephen Ratcliffe has written to councils warning that discrimination against companies named by the OFT were likely to contravene EU public procurement rules.

The confederation is seeking clarification from the OFT on some of its cover pricing and compensatory payment allegations that it claims led to sensationalism.

Ratcliffe wrote: “It is not denied that cover pricing appears to have been endemic in the construction industry at a time when the vast majority of business was undertaken through single stage competitive tendering where contracts were awarded at the lowest price.

“For the most part, for the reasons mentioned above, contractors did not understand that the practice breached competition law.”

But Ratcliffe said the opportunity for cover pricing had diminished.

He called for councils to respond to the OFT claims with consideration, writing that some accusations were "unproven and unsustainable".

He wrote: “It should be noted that last week was the first time that companies had seen the evidence against them and they will now be given a proper opportunity to defend their position.

“Just because a company has been named in the press release does not mean that they will eventually be found to be in breach of competition law.”