September/October 2012 #8 – Law Journals

Markets: A toe in the water

Katherine Souterconsiders the efficacy of pre-procurement market testing given the reams of regulation and tales of woe in the courts over non-compliance with the Regulations, contracting authorities are often understandably wary of the extent to which pre-procurement market testing is permitted.Can a contracting authority carry out pre-procurement market testing? Yes it can – as long …

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Funding: Paying the price of change

Paul Pughlooks at the future of Social Impact Bonds Under the contract, investors will see a return so long as there is a measured reduction in reconviction events of 7.5% relative to the experience of control group of short-sentence prisoners in the UK.There remains a buzz about Social Impact Bonds (SIB), especially in political circles, …

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Services: One for me, none for you…

Jonathan Parker discusses the use of shared services It appears that plans set out in Civil Service Reform Plan of June 2012 that shared services “become the norm” will be welcome relief to some. Unfortunately, proposed changes to the EU procurement regime may complicate the realisation of these aims.Shared services are similar to a collaboration …

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Contracting: Getting in the right frame(work) of mind

Jo Ludlam and Yindi Gesinde highlight the merits of framework agreements Technically, authorities can go outside of a framework (if the provisions of the framework permit), but if they do the procurement rules as set out in the PCR will apply with full rigour.In the recent Department of Health (DoH) publication, NHS Procurement: Raising our …

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Contract: I can see clearly now… interpreting contracts post-Rainy Sky

Clare Arthurs and Sebastian Kokelaar assess the implications of a recent decision in the Supreme Court The bank’s interpretation was, arguably, commercially implausible, whereas on the claimants’ interpretation the whole of para 2 could be said to be redundant.In Rainy Sky SA v Kookmin Bank [2011] the Supreme Court revisited the principles governing the construction …

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Litigation: Unhealthy challenges

Hazel Grant reviews the impact of the Unison case This case is confirmation that interested third parties can use public law remedies in response to flawed procurements, although, as might be expected, the threshold for successful use of these remedies is high.Challenges under the Public Contract Regulations 2006 (the Regulations) are reserved to economic operators, …

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Update: Security services

Jack Haywardcontinues his round up of the high (and low) lights in the procurement arena The defendant council formed the view that the Note constituted a qualification or caveat (which was not permitted under the Invitation to Tender) and that the bid should, therefore, be rejected on that basis.I was having a drink one evening …

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Utilities: Greenbacks

Paul Young examines the implications of the Green Deal It is clear that the Green Deal is likely to face challenges, mainly in relation to creating a product that is both attractive to the consumers and providers while not requiring such a significant level of subsidy from the government.As 2013 approaches we will begin to …

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