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Helen Rose and Sean Ibbetson look at the lessons to be learned from Medirest Contracting parties may need to consider the effect of an obligation to act in good faith even where they have not agreed an express obligation to that effect.Obligations in commercial agreements to act in good faith are now common, particularly in …
Continue reading "Contract: Keep the faith"
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Sherree Westell points out some pitfalls in the drafting of software procurement contracts Suppliers may include generic or high-level descriptions in their standard form contracts and clearly, to avoid any mismatch in expectation, such descriptions will need tailoring to reflect any pre-contract discussions and ensure both parties are entirely satisfied.In recent years, the provision of …
Continue reading "IT: Software slip-ups"
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Catherine Wolfenden and Ashley Morgan consider the treatment of abnormally low tenders in public procurement An authority cannot reject the tender without seeking clarification of any areas that seem unusually low and evaluating the bid on the basis of the response it receives.In a climate of ever-tightening budgets for public authorities, when a bidder comes …
Continue reading "Tendering: Looking a gift horse in the mouth"
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Julian Yew highlights the key areas of change in TUPE for those involved in commercial outsourcing There does not appear to be any exemption for service provision changes affecting a small number of employees of a large organisation.In January 2013, the government issued a consultation paper on proposed changes to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection …
Continue reading "Outsourcing: Commercial confusion?"
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Ruth Smith and Jenny Beresford-Jones investigate the trickier issues of framework agreements ‘In the absence of case law on the specific point, the safest approach is only to use the mini competition award criteria set out in the framework agreement.’This is the second part of a two-part article, in which we shall discuss tricky issues …
Continue reading "Framework Agreements: House of cards"
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Dr Sam De Silva discusses the role of continuous improvement in contracting In certain circumstances it may be appropriate, and even desirable, to allow the service provider to share in the costs benefits of a continuous improvement change.One of the challenging areas to draft (and negotiate) in an outsourcing contract is the provisions relating to …
Continue reading "Drafting: Could do better"
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John Bennett assesses the possible reform of the private finance initiative A ‘call for evidence’ was made by HM Treasury, following increasing concerns about the long-term liabilities created by PFI projects and the significant windfall profits made by those in the private sector.This article looks at the proposed reforms of the private finance initiative (PFI) …
Continue reading "PFI: Private pockets"
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Jeremy Glover examines the use of expert evidence in procurement disputes The possibility of being able to rely on a detailed expert’s report, dealing with all aspects of the evaluation and out of which a case as to manifest error or unfairness might emerge, would be at least superficially attractive to a claimant. The case …
Continue reading "Dispute Resolution: Moving the stalls"
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Dr Stuart Thompson provides an overview of urban growth and associated policy implications The devolution of power to major cities has a number of clear implications for all involved The growth of urban areas is a world-wide phenomenon, but the publication of figures from the 2011 census showed the largest increase, in terms of numbers, …
Continue reading "Devolution: Brave new world"
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Jack Hayward sets the scene for the new year in procurement The inquiry also found that, in seeking to run the complex and, in some respects, novel ICWC franchise process, there was an accumulation of significant errors resulting in a flawed sizing process for the subordinated loan facility. I read the other day that the …
Continue reading "Update: Death of the typewriter"
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