Speakers
Session
The Government spends around £290 billion per year on public procurement. It is therefore essential that public sector officials are alert to the risks that bid-rigging can pose to the procurement process, and the steps can be taken to ensure a fair and competitive process.
During this session, Sarah will outline dangers that bid rigging poses to the public purse, explain the work that the CMA is doing to investigate and deter such conduct, and outline what to look out for to ensure the procurement processes you run are fair, competitive and offer genuine value for money.
Sarah Cawthorne is an Assistant Director in the Competition Enforcement team within the Competition and Markets Authority. She is currently leading an investigation into conduct in the housebuilding sector, and has previously worked on a range of competition law cases involving digital and pharmaceutical markets.
Sarah joined the CMA in 2020, after completing a PhD at the University of York. She now works from the CMA’s Greater Manchester office in Salford, where she was one of the first members of staff. During her time at the CMA she has been involved in phases across the lifecycle of a regulatory investigation, including dawn raids, case launch, complex evidence reviews, issuing infringement decisions, accepting legally binding commitments, and successfully defending a CMA decision on appeal.