Policy: Knitting Britain’s future

Tim Pugh and James Parker examine recent proposals for devolution and what it might mean for infrastructure delivery ‘Who will make the call when a centrally driven project impacts on the city, county, town or region in question and its plans?’How the UK plans and delivers its infrastructure development is crucial to making sure the …
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Supply Chain: Too many cooks

Dr Sam De Silva analyses managing legal risks within the supply chain ‘Consideration must be given on a case-by-case basis as to whether a service provider should be permitted to enter into subcontracts, and if so, the terms, conditions and restrictions which will apply to such a right.’In a typical outsourcing arrangement, a customer will …
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Mutualisation: Mutual benefit

Bridgette Wilcox and Paul Pugh investigate the next steps for the mutualisation agenda ‘The flexibility afforded to contracting authorities who wish to restrict the type of organisation eligible to bid has the potential of providing a greater chance of success to their mutuals.’With the dust settling after the recent general election, it is possible to …
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Litigation: The devil in the detail

Jenny Beresford-Jones summarises the implications of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 for procurement ‘New regulations under the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 look set to go beyond anything required at EU level.’It is now several months since the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) came into force, implementing the new …
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Update: Caravan parks and rainy days

Chris Bryden, Agata Patyna and Matthew Shaw evaluate a recent Supreme Court decision dealing with the interpretation of contracts ‘The High Court agreed with the buyers’ interpretation, but the Court of Appeal overturned it and entered summary judgment in favour of the respondent bank.’ When dismissing the appeal of the lessees in the Court of …
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Regulation: Feeling your way

Rory Ashmore assesses the impact of the new light touch regime ‘Light touch regime contracts will benefit from far greater flexibility than those whose procurement is fully regulated under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.’On 9 March 2015, the Cabinet and Crown Commercial Service (CCS) issued guidance on a new ‘light touch regime’ (LTR) for the …
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Contract: Take the money and don’t run

David Sawtell considers how far good faith can apply to repudiatory breach ‘If the innocent party has no other reason to affirm the contract than to maximise its damages, the court might scrutinise its claim.’If a party is in serious breach of a contract, the so-called ‘innocent’ party needs to know whether or not it …
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Disclosure: Finding the missing link

Deborah Ramshaw reports on a recent judgment highlighting the pitfalls of disclosure ‘The court found that the council had sought a potentially unfair advantage through its attitude to disclosure; in particular the court found that it was unfair for the council to “pick and choose what documents they provide and when, as it suits them”.’The …
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Legislation: Small is beautiful

Lisa Boyd looks at the promotion of SME engagement under the 2015 Public Contracts Regulations ‘Uninformed contracting authorities may not be aware of the new rules on lots and thus fall foul of the “do or explain” regime, which would leave them open to challenge.’Contracting authorities strive to achieve value for money through their various …
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