Revised Timber Procurement Advice Note now available

From April 2009 there has been a step-change in timber procurement policy. Central government departments, their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are now required to procure timber and wood-derived products originating from either legal and sustainable or FLEGT-licensed or equivalent sources.

The revised UK Government's Timber Procurement Advice Note, which informs central government departments in England of the procedures that are effective from 1 April 2009 for purchasing timber and wood-derived products in line with Government policy, is now available. The TPAN, as this Defra document is referred to, replace its predecessors, the advice notes from November 2005 and August 2009, and should be referred to by everyone who tries to implement and ensure compliance with the UK Government’s timber procurement policy.

The TPAN consists of three sections:

·                     Section 1 provides an overview of timber procurement policy

·                     Section 2 provides guidance on implementation of the policy

·                     Section 3 links policy implementation to the main stages in the            procurement process

plus Annexes:

·                     Annex A: Glossary of terms

·                     Annex B: Model specification text

·                     Annex C: Model contract condition

·                     Annex D: Model paragraph for inclusion in ITT covering letter

The Timber Procurement Advice Note (April 2009) is available for download here.