The Water Industry (Specified Infrastructure Projects) (English Undertakers) Regulations 2013 (the SIP Regulations) apply a procurement regime to the Thames Tideway Tunnel Project which the designated licensed infrastructure provider, in this case Tideway, must follow in circumstances where the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006 (the UCR) or the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (the PCR) do not impose a requirement to conduct a competitive tender process. Regulation 6(8) of the SIP Regulations permits Ofwat to issue a notice to dis-apply this regime, or aspects of the regime, in relation to the licensed infrastructure provider. The procurement regime that applies to the project under the SIP Regulations is a modified form of the procurement regime in the UCR (the modified procurement regime).
In October 2016 Tideway applied for a waiver in respect of two software contracts. We agreed to grant this waiver and on 25 November 2016 issued a third Waiver Notice: Regulation 6(8) Notice No. 1 of 2016. This third waiver notice came into effect on 1 December 2016. In accordance with section 195A of the Water Industry Act 1991 (as applied by the SIP Regulations), this document sets out the reasons for our decision to issue this third waiver notice.