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Simon Randall and Joanna Bussell outline the development in public sector mutuals for the delivery of local government services ‘There are a number of hurdles that any group of employees wishing to create a public sector mutual needs to bear in mind.’Public sector mutuals (PSMs) have been defined by the Cabinet Office as: … an …
Continue reading "Local Government: Mutual benefit: the future for local government services?"
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Stephanie Rickard comments on a recent decision on the definition of public works contracts ‘Pizzarotti confirms the EU approach to interpretation – it is necessary to look at the nature of a transaction rather than its classification to determine whether or not the procurement rules apply.’The recent opinion issued in Impresa Pizzarotti v Comune di …
Continue reading "Works Contracts: What’s in a name?"
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Mark Lewis provides a timely reminder of the validity of exclusion and limitation clauses ‘In construing any clause in a contract, including an exclusion or limitation clause, the court should decide what the words would mean to a reasonable person having all the relevant background knowledge including the contract itself as a whole.’A critical issue …
Continue reading "Drafting: Plain speaking"
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Dr Felix Helmstädter reports on a recent German decision considering EU rules on joint bidding ‘As a general rule, joint bidding complies with EU antitrust law if both parties to the cooperation agreement are unable to participate in the public tender without teaming up, because they would not be able to perform the contract on …
Continue reading "Procedure: Love me tender"
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James Falle and Alexandra Cross highlight the importance of considering the financial standing of bidders ‘Guarantees ought generally to be required if the bidder needs to rely on the standing of another entity. In this case the authority needs to assess the standing of the entity which is being relied on.’At first sight, the recent …
Continue reading "Bidding: Guaranteeing trouble?"
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Jenny Beresford-Jones looks at a recent case on time limits ‘The court judged that the 30-day period must run from the date on which the tenderer receives notification of the decision authorising the change in the consortium or the date on which it became aware of that decision.’Readers will be aware that under UK law, …
Continue reading "Challenges: Where there’s muck…"
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Helen Randall assesses the efficacy and objectives of Directive 2014/24 ‘Many of the changes in the directive have been implemented with the laudable (but, in the author’s personal view, somewhat naive) objective of encouraging SME participation in government tenders.’The new European public procurement directive (Directive 2014/24) has been billed as bringing more speed, flexibility and …
Continue reading "Legislation: The new classic public procurement directive – a curate’s egg?"
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Christopher Towner and Ed Rimmell review the Environmental and Energy Aid Guidelines and their implications for UK energy policy ‘The government’s objectives for Electricity Market Reform are to ensure a secure electricity supply and sufficient investment in sustainable low-carbon technologies, and to maximise benefits and minimise costs to taxpayers and consumers.’Speaking at a recent industry …
Continue reading "Energy: Keeping the lights on"
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Andrew Craig summarises a recent case on misrepresentation ‘If a statement has continuing effect, the person who makes it has a continuing responsibility for its accuracy.’ Contractual negotiations are always to be conducted and recorded with the utmost care, not least in the light of Cramaso LLP v Ogilvie-Grant, Earl of Seafield [2014], which establishes …
Continue reading "Contract: Slip of the tongue"
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Nick McMahon and Mamata Dutta outline a recent case on health and safety duties ‘No matter what business you may have, you must take fire safety seriously.’No matter the size of the contracting exercise or the negotiated duties of the parties, a recent news story which raised smiles in some quarters has actually emphasised a …
Continue reading "Health And Safety: The pain of compliance"
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