Part 13: General Schedule 5: Direct award justifications User choice contracts
Paragraph 13 allows for direct award of a user choice contract provided certain conditions are met. This is because such contracts are not suitable for a competitive tendering procedure due to the needs or preference of an individual.
	. Paragraph 16 defines "user choice services" as the type of services to be provided under light touch contracts (i.e. of a kind specified in regulations made under section 9), which must be for the benefit of a particular individual and where, by another enactment (e.g. the Care Act 2014), the contracting authority is required to take into account the view of the individual or their carer as to who should supply the service.
	Paragraph 17 requires that the individual or their carer has expressed a preference as to who should provide the service or the nature of the service to be provided means only one supplier can provide it. In addition, the contracting authority must consider that it is in the best interest of the individual that the contract is not awarded under a competitive tendering procedure.