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Procedure: It doesn’t work!

Peter Jansen and Rachel Scarfe review the remedy of ineffectiveness ‘This article looks at the remedies now available under the current procurement regulations, in particular declarations of ineffectiveness.’In October 2010 Eurostar awarded the contract to replace its existing fleet of high-speed trains to Siemens as opposed to Alstom, its incumbent supplier. Amidst surprise in the …
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Award Procedures: Who needs to dialogue when you can negotiate?

Graeme Young and Victoria Moorcroft contemplate the future of the competitive dialogue procedure ‘A review by HM Treasury in November 2010 concluded that, while a properly run CD procedure has clear advantages, a poor one was burdensome and expensive.’In this article we consider the competitive dialogue procedure and the criticisms levelled against it in the …
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Reform: Training to tender

Rosemary Choueka investigates Cabinet Office initiatives following the Bombardier tender ”The Bombardier story was all the more interesting because it took place at the same time that the government was submitting its response to the European Commission’s proposals to modernise EU public procurement law and policy.”In July 2011, the Canadian train maker Bombardier announced plans …
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Framework Agreements: Can’t get over it

Robert Rooney examines the lessons to be learned from Henry Brothers v Department of Education for Northern Ireland ‘It is interesting to note that the Court of Appeal’s judgment in the case considered in this article, makes a less adventurous contribution to the debates opened by the first instance decision.’In 2008, the Belfast High Court …
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Outsourcing: In a league of their own

Jack Hayward and Anthony Butler discuss strategies for outsourcing to employees from a local authority perspective ‘The government is asking local authorities to pioneer the use of employee-owned entities, but neglecting to give authorities the tools with which to deliver the end product.’Outsourcing is not a new concept for local authorities, and over the past …
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Remedies: Till ineffectiveness do us part

David Gollancz considers the efficacy of pre-nuptial agreements to defeat claims for ineffectiveness ‘This article considers the legal rules governing ‘pre-nuptial’ agreements, and the reasons why they may be a good idea in any case where ineffectiveness is a risk.’The remedy of ineffectiveness was introduced into European legislation by Directive 2007/66/EC, implemented in England, Wales …
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IT: In the system

Luisa D’Alessandro suggests five essential tips for IT procurement ‘While it is unlikely that an organisation will be able to foresee all future requirements, spending at least some time at the start of a project thinking about how requirements might change in the short to medium term may well result in a better contractual position.’Being …
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Procurement Regulations: Costa lot

Julie Prior and Deborah Ramshaw investigate the application of the procurement regulations to development agreements: Commission v Spain ‘The developer is financially responsible for the execution of the works and is liable to carry out the necessary administrative procedures in order to guarantee that the project is free of charge for the authority and that …
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Outsourcing: In a cold climate

Melanie Collier and Matthew Bennett contemplate the use of the negotiated procedure ‘Rather than focusing on legislative changes, UK public authorities should instead re-evaluate their interpretation and use of the existing Regulations in order to get the most out of the regulatory regime.’ While the state of the economy may have dominated much of David …
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Challenge: Caught in the act (or omission)

Hazel Grant, Adrian Sim and Scott Allardyce outline the position of bidders on a breach of procurement law ‘The Regulations set out a number of requirements that contracting authorities must comply with, depending on the specific award procedure being used (whether open, restricted, competitive, dialogue or negotiated).’Compliance with procurement law is often seen as the …
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