Government publishes 'short form' T&Cs for low value procurements

The Crown Commercial Service and the Government Legal Service published a set of ‘short form’ terms and conditions of contract last month, for use by Government departments “and many other public sector organisations”.

A Cabinet Office Public Procurement Note, which contains a link to the terms and conditions and can be viewed here, said: “In-Scope Organisations may use the new Short Form terms and conditions for low value procurement of goods and services where the likely contract value is below the relevant procurement thresholds found in the Public Contracts Regulations 2006.

“Use of the new documents is recommended because they are up to date and reflect current Government policies.”

The Cabinet said the contents of the PPN applied to all central Government departments including their executive agencies and non departmental public bodies (In-Scope Organisations).

It added: “In-Scope Organisations should assess whether the documents are appropriate in each case and if in doubt should seek legal advice in the context of their specific procurements.”

The PPN said the documents were designed to ensure that departments were able to use appropriate and proportionately ‘light touch’ contract terms for low value procurements.

“This is aimed at avoiding the use of overly complex terms which can increase costs and act as a barrier to the involvement of SMEs in Government procurements,” it explained.

The Cabinet Office warned that the documents were not suitable for construction works, for which industry standard forms of contract were available, or for IT contracts “for which a suitable framework should normally be used”.

It added that the documents had been “quality assured” with stakeholders in Government departments and with industry via SME Panel members.

Guidance on the use of the documents is included in the introductory notes in each document set.