Contractual Issues Covered In Standardisation of PFI Contracts

1  A model contract for a social care PFI project is included in this Procurement Pack (the "Model Contract") and Local Authorities must use this Model Contract as a basis for their projects in order to secure PFI credits.  The Model Contract is based on the standard National Health Service PFI Contract (SF3) and incorporates and builds upon the approaches set out in the HM Treasury Standardisation of PFI Contracts Version 4 dated March 2007 ("SoPC").  Usage of this Model Contract should reduce the time and cost of negotiations for both the Local Authority and the private sector partner.  The Model Contract is intended to enable Local Authorities to strike a balance between a contractual position which is commercially deliverable for the private sector and which can provide value for money for the Local Authority.  

2  The Model Contract will form part of the ISDS documentation. Using the Model Contract enables the focus of project negotiations to be on project specific issues rather than on issues that are generic to all projects, e.g. treatment of change in law, compensation on termination and refinancing.

3  This Section of the Procurement Pack examines the relevance to Local Authority social care PFI projects of contractual issues covered in SoPC.  Unless otherwise indicated, the 'Sections' referred to in this Guidance relate to the relevant Sections of SoPC and not this Procurement Pack.