This category can only be viewed by members.
Mark Lewis assesses a recent case of difficult drafting ‘All parties should consider carefully whether a termination clause contains clear steps and timelines which will be practical and fair for the parties to implement.’In BT Cornwall Ltd v Cornwall Council [2015], the High Court has ruled that Cornwall Council and others were entitled to terminate …
Continue reading "Outsourcing: It’s good to write"
This post is only available to members.
Ian Green and James Hall analyse the implications of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 for housing ‘The government has signalled its commitment to long-term housing investment and the building of new homes appears to remain at the core of government policy.’George Osborne’s Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 promises to double the housing …
Continue reading "Infrastructure: Bob can build it"
This post is only available to members.
Dr Sam De Silva highlights the merits of a key commercial principles document ‘The aim of a key commercial principles document should be to establish enough agreement between the parties to move into the latter stages of deal shaping.’Given the complexity of strategic outsourcing contracts, once the parties have reached agreement on principle deal points, …
Continue reading "Negotiation: Standing on principles"
This post is only available to members.
John Houlden, Stephanie Rickard and Patrick Parkin discuss the use of new standard forms for public procurement notices ‘The European Commission has included some new standard forms for publishing public procurement notices. Use of these forms is legally required by the EU under the implementing regulation of 11 November 2015.’The European Commission recently published a …
Continue reading "Procedure: True to form"
This post is only available to members.
Mark Lawrence and Jonathan Pratt investigate recent Supreme Court guidance on break rights and implied terms ‘All five members of the Supreme Court were clear that… a term can only be implied into a contract where it is necessary to make that contract work. This should, therefore, be the starting point for anyone involved in …
Continue reading "Contract: Something for everyone"
This post is only available to members.
Elizabeth Jenkins looks at the implications of housing shortage ‘The Chancellor’s devolution plans… will enable housing solutions to be driven at a local level. The devolution agenda is gathering pace.’It is almost impossible to avoid or ignore the fact there is a ‘housing crisis’ in the UK which, if not tackled, is going to severely …
Continue reading "Housing: A smarter crisis"
This post is only available to members.
Rebecca Rees reviews the evaluation of tender pricing ‘It is suggested that contracting authorities reconsider the overall evaluation methodology, rather than try and mitigate the risk of abnormally low or suicidal bids through altering the overall price/quality split.’Contracting authorities procuring in the economic downturn have been poorly served by traditional approaches to evaluating price. The …
Continue reading "Tendering: The price is right?"
This post is only available to members.
Ruth Bamforth reports on the New Fair Deal provisions ‘The basic principle of New Fair Deal is that public sector employees who are transferred to the private sector should be able to remain members of the public sector pension scheme.’Pension provision is an emotive subject. As time passes fewer private sector workers have access to …
Continue reading "Pensions: Holding all the cards"
This post is only available to members.
Peter Kershaw examines the continued devolution of planning powers ‘The government continues to negotiate bespoke devolution settlements on a place-by-place basis with key UK regions who make a compelling case for receiving new powers.’On 17 November 2015 Greg Clark, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, confirmed in a written statement to the …
Continue reading "Planning: The best-laid plans"
This post is only available to members.
Noel McMichael and Clare Arthurs analyse the impact of Makdessi ‘The Supreme Court looked at two main questions: when is the penalty rule engaged, and what makes a contractual provision penal?’ The Supreme Court has re-examined the rule against penalties in contracts. Its judgment in the joined cases of Cavendish Square Holding BV v El …
Continue reading "Damages: Avoiding a penalty"
This post is only available to members.
