Home / People / Emma Blundell
Portrait ofEmma Blundell

Emma Blundell

Senior Associate

Contact
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
Saltire Court
20 Castle Terrace
Edinburgh
EH1 2EN
United Kingdom
Languages English

Emma is a Senior Associate in the Antitrust, Competition and Trade Team specialising in public procurement law. She has over 8 years of experience of advising both the public sector (central government, local authorities, universities) and the private sector on all aspects of UK and EU public procurement laws. 

Emma’s work involves advising on the strategy and conduct of procurement exercises, from pre-procurement through to contract award, and on the detail of procurement documentation. She has acted in many large scale and high profile procurements and is experienced in advising on contentious matters, including court proceedings. 

more less

Relevant experience

  • A large number of local authority clients in relation to procurements of development partners for city/town centre regeneration schemes (contract values £250m - £1bn).
  • National Employment Savings Trust on its procurement for its pension scheme administration services, with an estimated contract value of £1.5bn. 
  • Ministry of Justice on its £4bn “dynamic framework” procurement for the provision of rehabilitation and resettlement services across England and Wales and numerous call-off contracts. 
  • Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and its subsidiaries on multiple procurements.
  • Anonymised clients in the nuclear sector in relation to a public procurement dispute in the High Court. 
  • Anonymised client in the construction sector in relation to a high-profile public procurement dispute in the High Court.
more less

Education

  • 2012 – Diploma in Professional Legal Practice, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh.
  • 2010 – LLB (Hons), University of Dundee, Dundee.
more less

Feed

26/01/2024
Commissioning Health Care Services in England: The new PSR regime
Following a lengthy consultation process, the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 (the “PSR”), were laid before Parliament on 19 October 2023. The PSR has been designed...
10/10/2023
Procurement Cube
Welcome to CMS’ interactive Procurement Cube where we will be exploring the new Procurement Act through the lens of a number of key sectors, each sector being one side of our cube: Defence, Energy & Utilities, In­fra­struc­ture, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Real Estate and TMT & Outsourcing. We will also be providing resources, links and up-to-date information on procurement reform in the UK. Please bookmark this page and look out for new, sector-specific insights and commentary from the CMS team.
25/08/2023
TMT & Outsourcing
The Act also gives authorities more discretion to exclude suppliers, raising risks around debarment, and has a greater focus on contract management over the lifetime of the contracts procured, including the use of KPIs and monitoring and reporting requirements. This summer, the UK Government published an updated version of the Sourcing Playbook and a new Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) Playbook. The intention is to reflect the sector-specific aspects of the new Act and in the accompanying secondary legislation and guidance in these playbooks; the playbooks acting as best practice for authorities when conducting technology and IT procurements, and outsourcing more generally. Our sector-specific insights will help you understand and navigate these new rules and their specific application in the sector.
25/08/2023
Real Estate
Compliance with procurement law (and subsidy control rules) is key to successfully structuring these projects. The procurement basis for these schemes varies, but usually involves having to navigate the complex and sometimes inconsistent case-law derived from the current set of procurement regulations.  While most of main concepts remain unchanged, some of the more detailed provisions in the new Act may make it easier to navigate public procurement rules. In considering the impact of the new Act on the Real Estate sector, our insights will consider some of those specific features of the new rules, including:The definitions of a “public contract” and “works”;Ex­emp­tions for the acquisition of land and build­ings; Dir­ect award justifications and requirements to compete sub-contracts; andThe rules applying to the modification of public contracts.
25/08/2023
Life Sciences & Healthcare
Then there is the extent to which all other NHS procurement will be subject to Procurement Act, and the specific features of the Act that will be relevant to healthcare procurement. These include: the scope of the ‘light touch regime’; new rules on frameworks and ‘dynamic markets’; debarment and exclusion; contract management and modifications; transparency rules including the publication of different forms of notices). Our sector-specific insights will help you understand and navigate these new rules and their specific application in the sector.   
25/08/2023
Infrastructure
Key features of the new rules will include: exclusion grounds and debarment; the future of PQQs/SQs; new contract award procedures; inclusion of ESG and social value criteria; new rules on frameworks; changes to debriefing, standstill and remedies; and the publication of contract information and no­tices. Wheth­er you looking at new projects as a procuring authority, or as an investor, contractor or consultant, our insights into the new Act and its implementation over the next six months will help you address these challenges.
25/08/2023
Energy & Utilities
Companies operating in these sectors will need to assess whether they are caught by the Act, and then identify the specific aspects of the new rules that will apply to them and their procurement activity. They will also need to get their heads around the new rules on “open” and “closed” frameworks and “dynamic markets”, as well as the new award procedures and transparency requirements. Suppliers to the energy and utilities sectors will also need to make themselves aware of the new rules. This will be important to ensure they do not miss contract opportunities, and also to ensure they give themselves the best chance of retaining and winning business.
22/08/2023
Defence
The new Act repeals the current regulations governing competitive tendering. It also amends the Defence Reform Act 2014, providing for changes to the rules on single source contracts (SSCs). These are intended to simplify and speed up those rules, and to incentivise suppliers to innovate and support government objectives. Our insights look both at the provisions as they apply to competitive defence procurements and to the changes being made to single-source rules.
15/08/2023
Use of AI in public procurement
There has been a huge surge in interest in Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) technology in recent months as consumer generative AI tools are starting to become integrated into day-to-day life.As the...
13/06/2023
The latest news on UK procurement reforms – “Go Live” in October 2024
The Cabinet Office has issued its latest update on the UK Government’s Transforming Public Procurement Programme. The key message is that the expected “go live” for the new regime has been pushed...
02/06/2023
Modification of public contracts during their term
Procuring authorities and suppliers frequently consider whether changes to a contract awarded under the procurement regulations can be accommodated, or alternatively whether they give rise to a new contract...
17/05/2023
Risks with non-compliant tenders
A recent procurement case in Scotland highlights the risks both for bidders and for contracting authorities when dealing with non-compliant tenders: Capita Business Services Ltd v The Common Services...