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Changing Time for Public Procurement - Will You Benefit?

The European Commission has long placed public procurement reform at the heart of its agenda, believing that it will play a crucial part in attaining its goals of achieving smart, sustainable and inclusive growth over the next decade. Around 18% Europe’s GDP is spent by public authorities on supplies, works and services, and current budgetary constraints mean it is more important than ever that the procurement process works efficiently.

Tods Murray advises Balfour Beatty on two street lighting contracts

Tods Murray has advised Balfour Beatty on two street lighting PPP contracts worth a total of over £430 million.

Will Borders Rail Link ever get its Wheels in Motion?

The unexpected news that Carillion has withdrawn from the IMCD consortium has no doubt dealt another major blow to the Borders Rail project, which has been plagued by a barrage of problems from the word go.

Borders Rail - Carillion Withdraws From Bidding Team

The Borders Rail DBFM Project has suffered a further setback with the news that Carillion has withdrawn from the IMCD consortium.

Tods Murray Advises Lenders in UK’s Largest Fire Services PPP

Tods Murray LLP advised the two European lenders behind the UK’s largest PPP project for fire and rescue services, announced last week.

PFI to the rescue?

The 2009-10 Hospital Estates and Facilities Statistics for the NHS in England paint an interesting picture. As recently reported on the BBC, some 17% of English NHS estate is deemed to be “not functionally suitable for use”.

Changing Priorities

Finance Secretary John Swinney looks set to reveal plans to move routine spending to capital investment when he announces his spending priorities for the year to MSPs later this week.

Borders Rail – Fluor Limited Withdraws From Consortium

The future of the Borders Rail project has suffered a set-back following the unexpected withdrawal of Fluor Limited from one of the bidding consortia.

Data Protection Act – A Reminder of Possible Penalties for Non Compliance

As highlighted in a previous article on this website, from 6 April 2010, the Information Commissioner has been empowered to issue fines of up to half a million pounds following breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the “DPA”) without the need to take criminal or civil proceedings. Recent comment from the Commissioner in response to a potentially significant breach of the DPA serves as a timely reminder of these significant fining powers and the case itself highlights how easily parties can fall foul of the provisions of the DPA.

Crunch Time for PFI

On 27 July 2010, the National Audit Office (NAO) issued its report on the implications of the credit crisis for both existing and future PFI projects. “Financing PFI Projects in the credit crisis and the Treasury’s response” highlights the challenges the Treasury faced as the crisis took hold in the autumn of 2008, explains the Treasury’s response and outlines the Treasury’s proposals for the financing of future projects.

Crunch Time for PFI

The National Audit Office recently issued its report on the implications of the credit crisis for both existing and future PFI projects. “Financing PFI Projects in the credit crisis and the Treasury’s response” highlights the challenges the Treasury faced as the crisis took hold in the autumn of 2008, explains the Treasury’s response and outlines the Treasury’s proposals for the financing of future projects.

How entire are entire agreement clauses in contracts?

Many contracts contain a clause to the effect that the contract is the entire agreement of the parties in relation to a particular subject and as such supersedes all prior agreements, negotiations and discussions between the contracting parties. There has been some uncertainty about what these entire agreement clauses actually achieve. This article considers recent case law which has highlighted the limitations of entire agreement clauses in a situation where there is an attempt to rectify the terms of a signed contract.

Tods Murray Conclude Coventry Street Lighting PFI Deal

The Tods Murray Capital Projects team, led by Partner Ian McPake, advised the private sector contractor Connect Roads Coventry Limited, a Balfour Beatty-owned SPV, on Coventry City Council’s PFI street lighting project, which reached financial close on 3 August 2010.

Whose Supply Is It Anyway? - The Puzzle of PFI and the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme

As part of the UK government’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme Order (the “Order”) came into force on 1 April 2010, establishing a compulsory carbon emissions cap and trade scheme (the "Scheme”), which applies to both public and private sector organisations and aims to incentivise energy efficiency.

Emergency Budget

Just in case you missed it, the Chancellor of the Exchequer presented the new Government’s emergency budget on Tuesday 22 June. The increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20% has certainly caught the British press’s attention.

Borders Rail Update

The process of appointing a contractor to build the £295m rail link between Edinburgh and the Borders saw further progress yesterday as BAM UK ltd, IMCD (a consortium of Sir Robert McAlpine, Carillion Construction Ltd and Iridium Concessions de Infrastructures SA) and New Borders Railway (a consortium of Miller Construction (UK) ltd, Fluor Limited, and Uberior Infrastructure Investments) were invited to tender for the contract.

Aberdeen Bypass Plans Stalled

Objectors, from a local group called Road Sense, have lodged an appeal at the Court of Session against the decision of the Scottish Ministers to approve the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Take Notice

Notice provisions in contracts matter. That opening gambit could be blunted further by simply stating that contracts matter, but it is scarcely worth making the wider statement, given that everyone involved in business knows this lesson well. Notice provisions, however, tend to get glossed over in negotiations.

A Maximum £500,000 Penalty for Data Protection Breaches

The Data Protection (Monetary Penalties) Order 2010 and The Data Protection (Monetary Penalties) (Maximum Penalty and Notices) Regulations 2010 came into force on the 6th April 2010.

Focus

Time for Action

The ECJ decision in the above case has ruled that the period during which procurement infringement proceedings can be brought begins on the date on which a claimant becomes aware or ought to become aware of an alleged infringment - and not on the date of the alleged infringement itself.

Supreme Court - Supremely Sensible?

Supreme Court Judgement in Sigma Finance Corporation (in administrative receivership) and In Re The Insolvency Act 1986 (Conjoined Appeals)

Sustainable Procurement and Scottish Public Bodies

The Scottish Government has recently issued a document entitled the Sustainable Procurement Action Plan, which is designed to offer public sector bodies advice and assistance on how best they can add a sustainability element to their procurement processes.

The Missing Piece of the Puzzle - Piecing together PFI Contracts

2009 has been a year of tough negotiating as far as PFI contracts are concerned. Of course, negotiating these contracts has always been about allocating risk but, in the current climate, parties are becoming far more sensitive to their exposure than the more relaxed approach which had become the norm in more affluent times.

PFI, Construction Contracts and Pay-When-Paid Clauses

The provisions of section 113 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (the “HGCRA”) that outlawed pay-when-paid provisions in construction contracts (except on insolvency of a relevant third party) will be strengthened when the relevant part of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 comes into force, probably some time in late 2010 or perhaps 2011.

Freedom of Information, or Not?

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 is an important piece of legislation, affording members of the public a means to access information held by Scottish public authorities. The Court of Session recently issued a judgment which found in favour of two councils who had been subject to a number of information requests. The decision may also be instructive to those considering the English equivalent Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Tods Murray LLP Advisers on £176 Million Carlisle Northern Development Route PPP Scheme

Tods Murray is pleased to report that Financial Close was reached on 15 July on the £176 million Carlisle Northern Development Route PPP scheme for Cumbria County Council.

Tods Murray LLP Advisers on £170m Balfour Beatty Fife Hospital Project

Tods Murray is pleased to report that its client, Consort Healthcare (Fife) Ltd, a joint venture between Balfour Beatty and HSBC Infrastructure Investments, advised by our capital projects team led by partner Stephen Colliston, reached financial close in the £170 million Fife General Hospital and Maternity Services PPP project for NHS Fife on Thursday 30 April 2009.

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Our Capital Projects team is composed of lawyers proficient in commercial and corporate law and the law relating to public procurement, contracts, construction, banking and finance.

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The International Financial Reporting Standards

IFRS were created by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in April 2001, when they adopted all International Accounting Standards by the board of the International Accounting Standards Committee and continued their development under the name of IFRS.

Damages for Breach of Contract

In a recent decision, the Law Lords have substantially re-written the rules on liability for damages for breach of contract.

A Cautionary Tale: Your Word May Well Be Your Bond

In July 2007 Justice Andrew Smith pronounced judgement in Bear Stearns Bank Plc v Forum Global Equity Ltd[1]which casts serious doubt over whether a true meeting of the minds is required for the law to uphold a commercial transaction.