Step 1

Is the acquisition team following a PFI procurement route? If YES then move to Step 2. If NO then, even where MOD PAv1 is being used as the basis of a draft contract for a non-PFI procurement, no action is required in respect of approval of any derogations from a MOD PAv1 based draft contract.

Step 2

Does the draft contract vary from SoPC3 required drafting?

Step 3  

If NO then acquisition team to confirm this in writing to the PFU, together with a copy of the latest version of their draft contract and confirmatory statements from the acquisition team's external legal advisers. No need to involve Partnerships UK (PUK) but need to consider applicability of Phase 2 process.

Step 4  

If YES then the process is as follows:

a.  Acquisition team, PFU and PUK to meet to determine level of PUK input required.

b.  Acquisition team to request the external legal advisers to prepare the "derogations papers" consisting of:

i.  a summary paper providing the background and history of the project for which derogations are being sought;

ii.  a derogations matrix5 detailing where the drafting in the draft contract is not compliant with MOD PAv1 and, where relevant, not compliant with SoPC 3, with a clear project specific reason for the derogation; and

iii.  details of the required timetable.

c.  Acquisition team to contact PFU to set up interface between the acquisition team, external legal advisers and PUK, provide documents requested in (b) above, together with the latest version of the draft contract, and establish details of the PUK resources required and timetable.

Step 5  

PFU review the derogations papers and provide comments to the acquisition team and arrange for PUK resources to be assigned.

Step 6  

Acquisition team reviews PFU comments, revises derogations matrix if necessary, continues to negotiate compliance with SoPC3 to reduce derogations, and seeks PFU endorsement of revised derogations matrix.

Step 7

Once PFU has endorsed finalised derogations matrix, then:

a.  PFU sends finalised papers to PUK.

b.  PUK reviews papers and provides response to the acquisition team copied to PFU.

c.  Acquisition team consider PUK comments and address through further negotiations and/or provide additional project specific reason.

d.  Acquisition team resubmits papers to PUK, via PFU.

e.  PUK confirms that project specific reasons for requested derogations are likely to be acceptable to HMT.

f.  PUK submits papers to HMT.

g.  HMT endorses derogations.