Commercially Connected shorts - 16 September 2026

This week we look at:

• UK Joint Committee on Human Rights calls for UK AI Act
• CMA places public procurement at the centre of its growth agenda
• EU proposes new public procurement rules
• EU WEEE Directive reform: tighter rules, rising costs

UK Joint Committee on Human Rights calls for UK AI Act

On 10 September 2026 the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights published a report, urging the UK Government to introduce a comprehensive AI Bill to address significant human rights risks posed by AI systems. The Committee cites risks such as threats to privacy, bias and discrimination, lack of transparency in automated decision-making, and limited remedies for individuals harmed by AI-driven decisions.

The Committee considers the current UK legal and regulatory framework to be fragmented and largely focused on the deployment of AI rather than its design and development, leaving gaps in accountability and protection. It recommends a risk and principles-based, proportionate regulatory regime applying obligations across the entire AI supply chain, with stricter requirements for high-risk systems and prohibitions on certain uses of AI that are incompatible with human rights.

The Committee also calls for the establishment of a single independent AI regulator with powers to oversee compliance, enforce standards and sanction wrongdoing. It also recommends that the UK should ratify the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law as soon as possible.

This report adds weight to growing calls for explicit regulation of AI development and use in the UK, with the recommended approach clearly influenced by the EU AI Act. We wait to see how the Government will respond.

CMA places public procurement at the centre of its growth agenda

On 8September 2026, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published two policy papers setting out its vision for a more strategic and pro-competitive approach to public procurement. The first, Public Procurement in the National Interest: Reflections from the CMA, argues that the Government’s annual public procurement spend of approximately £400 billion is not being used as effectively as it could be to promote growth, innovation, resilience and wider industrial policy objectives. The second, Rigged Bids, Real Costs: A Case for Urgent Action on Bid Rigging in UK Public Procurement, calls for greater use of procurement data to detect possible collusion. It estimates that bid rigging could be costing UK taxpayers between £1 billion and £3.5 billion annually.

The publications form part of the CMA's wider work on industrial strategy, including its recent work on scale-ups, cloud computing, civil engineering and defence. Together, the papers provide a clear indication of the CMA's policy priorities and reflect its growing view that public procurement is a strategic tool for supporting growth, innovation, resilience and industrial policy objectives. As such, they have potentially significant implications for public authorities, suppliers and businesses participating in public tenders.

While the recommendations are directed primarily at Government and public authorities, the papers provide a clear indication of the CMA's priorities and the direction of travel for procurement and competition policy.

First, the CMA is taking a broader view of its role in supporting growth. It is presenting competition as a means of helping Government use procurement to shape markets, support innovative businesses and strengthen strategically important capabilities.

Second, the bid-rigging paper signals an increasingly data-led approach to cartel detection. If the CMA obtains broader and more consistent access to bid-level information, businesses participating in public procurement could face closer scrutiny across multiple tenders, buyers and periods of time.

Public authorities and suppliers should, therefore, follow the Government’s response and consider now whether their procurement strategies, tendering practices and competition compliance arrangements are equipped for this direction of travel.

For more detailed information see our team’s briefing: CMA places public procurement at the centre of its growth agenda

With thanks to Julia Woodward-Carlton, Christopher Murray, Peter Harper, Elizabeth Marshall, James Robinson and Annabel Borg

EU proposes new public procurement rules

On 9 September 2026 the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Regulation to repeal and replace the three 2014 public procurement directives. The proposal aims to simplify rules, strengthen strategic procurement and improve transparency, flexibility, competition and e-procurement, including through broader use of negotiations and a new procedure for innovative solutions. The reforms also envisage an EU-wide interoperable digital procurement marketplace, enabling suppliers to participate in procurement opportunities across Member States through a "once-only" data submission approach.

The proposal would make the Best Price-Quality Ratio the default award method, requiring greater consideration of quality, environmental, social, innovation, security and resilience criteria. It would also introduce measures aimed at strengthening supply chain resilience, economic security and strategic autonomy, including a new "European preference" framework that could permit restrictions on suppliers or products from certain third countries where market access is not reciprocal or where security concerns arise.

This reform would be a significant shift for businesses bidding on public contracts across the EU. The move from national transpositions of directives to a single directly applicable Regulation would eliminate divergent national interpretations and reduce compliance costs. A common digital marketplace would also allow businesses to participate in tenders EU-wide through any connected national platform, significantly expanding cross-border opportunities, particularly for SMEs. However, the European preference provisions and new security-related restrictions may require businesses with non-EU supply chains to restructure sourcing and partnerships.

EU WEEE Directive reform: tighter rules, rising costs

The EU’s rules on electronic waste are about to change. For any business placing electrical or electronic equipment on the EU market, this will affect both the cost base and the compliance framework for those businesses. The Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive (Directive 2012/19/EU) is being revised as part of the Circular Economy Act (CEA), expected in autumn 2026. Scope, collection targets, treatment standards and producer responsibility are each subject to review.

Under-collection now has a direct fiscal dimension. The Commission's 2 July 2025 evaluation found nearly half of EU e-waste uncollected and only around 40% recycled. The Own Resources proposal would charge Member States for every kilogram not collected. Uncollected e-waste also means lost copper, rare earths, gallium and germanium. The critical raw materials angle only reinforces the political impetus for stricter requirements.

The revision could widen the scope to cover green and digital equipment. Photovoltaic panels may get a separate regime. Mandatory EU-wide treatment standards are also under consideration, alongside more harmonised producer registration and reporting.

The WEEE revision is a central component of the CEA, the instrument intended to deliver the Clean Industrial Deal's target: doubling the circular material use rate to 24% by 2030. It is designed to create a genuine single market for secondary raw materials. It would also harmonise end-of-waste criteria and reduce dependency on imported critical resources.

For most businesses in scope, the existing obligations remain unchanged for now. The priority is to ensure current compliance, particularly on producer registrations and placed-on-market reporting. These figures will underpin both the new collection targets and the budgetary contribution. Businesses in the photovoltaic panel sector, or those that could fall within an expanded scope, should engage now while the proposal is still being shaped.

For more detailed information see our team’s briefing: EU WEEE Directive Reform: Tighter Rules, Rising Costs

With thanks to Fabian Volz, Richard A. Matthews, Romain Massobre, Matthaus Weinfurtner, Claire Gregory, Teresa Hitchcock and Joanna Kulewska