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Dr Sam De Silva discusses the merits and operation of acceptance testing ‘Successful testing can have different consequences, but in essence, the result of successful testing is that the software/system can be used in a live commercial environment.’ Whenever a customer procures products/services it must consider whether it needs to test those products and services …
Continue reading "Practice: Try before you buy"
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Emily Heard weighs up the adequacy of damages and the lifting of the automatic suspension when profit is not the only consideration ‘The circumstances in which damages will be an adequate remedy for non-profit-making suppliers is a key issue on which there appears to be a divergence of judicial opinion.’In the recent High Court procurement …
Continue reading "American Cyanamid: Money isn’t everything"
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Sana Khan explores the need for an opensource software policy ‘As the needs of the organisation change, there must be an established and recorded procedure for the review and revision of the opensource software (OSS).’Nowadays, most organisations use opensource software (OSS) somehow, whether it is embedded in an organisation’s own information technology infrastructure or used …
Continue reading "IT: Sorting sourcing"
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Elizabeth Gibson reports on the scope of the PCR 2015 ‘Where no enforceable contract for works exists, even where there is an expectation that a contract will be entered into, there is no public works contract to which the legislation can apply.’The High Court has dismissed a challenge by Faraday Development Ltd (FDL) against West …
Continue reading "Regulation: Regular development"
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Richard Hough highlights the key points in recent Crown Commercial Service guidance ‘The guidance reminds contracting authorities that contracts can be awarded on criteria other than cost price and quality.’Newly published Crown Commercial Service (CCS) guidance encourages contracting authorities to incorporate social, ethical and environmental considerations into various stages of their procurement processes, as permitted …
Continue reading "Procedure: Principled procurement"
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In the second of two articles, Chris Parker, Gregg Rowan and Nick Pantlin look at the judicial implication of a duty of good faith ‘The precise formulation of the duty differs between cases, but the essence seems to be a requirement to exercise the discretion honestly and in good faith, and not to act in …
Continue reading "Contract: Gotta have faith"
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Doug Wass and Nikolas Ireland provide an update on contractual remedies ‘While the principle remains that a party does not intend to give up common law rights without making it clear it intends to do so, it should not operate as a blind presumption to the detriment of proper analysis of the clause in question.’ …
Continue reading "Remedies: Out of gas"
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Katherine Souter considers a recent decision on the impact of Reg 72 ‘The court decided that an amendment of a contract consisting of a reduction in its scope may result in the contract being brought within reach of a greater number of economic operators.’Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) sets out …
Continue reading "Regulation: It’s good to talk (less)"
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Simon Jones sets out a more flexible approach to outsourcing ‘The contracts which the government enters into with suppliers when services are outsourced must also be able to flex easily as new ways of doing things are developed.’ Typically, outsourcing projects take a long time to procure and deliver. This can be bad news for …
Continue reading "Project Management: All change"
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Peter Kershaw identifies the key areas for public sector collaboration in maximising development and land disposal opportunities ‘We are now seeing strategic partnerships of local authorities working together across their previously traditional and restrictive political boundaries as well as individual local authorities striving to deliver major economic development schemes to transform their local economies.’Independent estimates …
Continue reading "Planning: Brownfield bonanza"
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