Part 3: Award of public contracts and procedures Chapter 3: Direct award Section 42: Direct award to protect life, etc.
The purpose of this section is to ensure procurements during an emergency event (like the Covid-19 pandemic) can be conducted as quickly and in full knowledge, even if the circumstances leading to the event are foreseeable (which would rule out the extreme urgency justification for direct award contained in paragraphs 13 and 14 of Schedule 5).
	Subsection (1) permits a Minister of the Crown, where necessary, to make regulations to provide that specified public contracts may be entered into via direct award as if section 41 (Direct award in special cases) and a direct award justification applies.  Regulations made under this power would, in accordance with section 122, be subject to the made affirmative procedure; this means that they will be effective immediately but must be approved by Parliament within 28 days or they will lapse at that point.
	Subsection (2) provides a definition of "necessary" (referred to in subsection (1)), which means necessary. to protect human, animal or plant life or health or public order or safety). This limits the discretion afforded to the Minister in subsection (1), and any regulations made under this section would need to comply with subsection (2).
	Subsection (3) provides a list of specific provisions that the Minister can set out in the regulations made under the power in subsection (1).
	Subsection (4) places an obligation on the Minister to keep under review any regulations made under this section. If the Minister considers that direct award under section 41 (Direct award in special cases) is no longer necessary they must revoke the regulations.