Precise legal advice for public and private clients
The award decision is signed off long before the challenge risk is settled. This article looks at the standstill period as a controlled act of disclosure, examining where award notifications and debriefs most often go wrong and setting out a defensible routine for managing the clock from notice to signature.
A variation clause governs how a contract may change; it does not decide whether the change is lawful without fresh competition. This article sets out a practical framework for testing post-award modifications against the Procurement Act 2023, and for building the approval record that makes the outcome defensible.
Most local authority delivery companies do not lose the Teckal exemption in a single, dramatic moment; they lose it by increments, as trading income grows and control quietly loosens. This article sets out how the control and activity conditions are evidenced, where commercial expansion creates exposure, and what a defensible pre-expansion review should look like.
Public bodies depend on supplier systems, but cyber security is often documented in assurances rather than enforceable contract terms. This article identifies the clauses that turn security promises into measurable duties and explains how to calibrate them to service risk.
Exit clauses are frequently tested only after a termination notice has been served, when the contracting authority’s leverage is weakest and continuity is most exposed. This article argues that exit readiness should be treated as a standing governance control, with contract managers and legal teams stress-testing transition assistance, data return, asset registers and knowledge transfer before the event.
Board minutes, delegated authority records and variation approvals are often treated as administrative housekeeping. When audit, FOI, procurement challenge or contract dispute arrives, they become the evidence on which the public body's position depends. This article sets out how to build a decision trail that can withstand scrutiny.
When the same individuals or organisations act for a public body and a private delivery partner, a conflict register is only useful if it changes decisions. This article sets out how to identify blurred roles early, record judgments defensibly and build a register that survives procurement challenge, audit and public scrutiny.
When outsourced public services move between providers or return in-house, the staff transfer is rarely a footnote. This article examines employee liability information, Fair Deal pensions and tender-stage risk allocation, with practical checks for authorities and bidders approaching a retender.
Subsidy control is not confined to large industrial support. It applies to many grants, loan guarantees and discounted property transactions. This advisory note offers a repeatable sequence for identifying subsidies, applying the principles and building a record that can withstand scrutiny.
Public funding arrangements are often labelled before they are analysed. This article sets out why the grant-contract distinction matters before payments begin, and offers a practical diagnostic for public bodies and recipients.
Whistleblowing protection does not stop at the commissioning body's door, but accountability can become blurred in contractor and joint-venture delivery. This article sets out a governance framework for closing the speak-up gap.
Shared services often blur the line between the public body that decides how citizen data is used and the supplier that operates the system. This article maps controller, processor and joint controller roles in joint delivery models and explains how to draft matching contract terms, manage breaches and preserve audit rights.
Social value commitments are easy to applaud at bid stage and harder to enforce after award. This article sets out a practical legal framework for converting promises into measurable contractual duties, monitoring delivery and applying proportionate remedies when performance falls short.
Price, scope and service levels tend to dominate contract negotiations, but risk often shifts in the schedules and boilerplate. This guide identifies ten quiet clauses that in-house legal teams should review before signature.
Shared services can deliver savings and resilience, but they can also blur legal responsibility. This health check sets out the governance questions public bodies should answer before collaboration becomes exposure.
Supplier failure can interrupt essential public services and leave authorities exposed to cost and compliance risk. This playbook sets out early warning signs, contractual protections, insolvency law considerations and a practical response when a contractor enters an insolvency process.
Public bodies are increasingly relying on AI to triage cases, detect fraud and deliver services. This article examines where legal accountability sits when those tools underperform, how data protection and equality duties apply, and what governance steps public bodies should take in 2026.
The Procurement Act 2023 is now in its second year of operation, and the focus has shifted from implementation to assurance. This article examines the practical compliance pitfalls facing contracting authorities and suppliers, the lessons emerging from early scrutiny, and the steps needed to make procurement processes robust for 2026 and beyond.
Commercial confidentiality is often asserted in public-private contracts, but it is not a blanket exemption from Freedom of Information obligations. This practical guide considers how authorities and contractors can identify genuinely sensitive information, draft contracts that withstand scrutiny and balance transparency with legitimate commercial interests.