The government has published the eagerly anticipated Model Services Contract. It replaces the 'OCG Model ICT Contract' version '2.3' which has been in existence for around five years.

Sarah Sasse and Alexi Markham worked with an inter-departmental Lawyer's Working Group and in conjunction with policy colleagues in the Cabinet Office to create the contract.

Reflecting the government's latest priorities and recommended ways of doing business, the new Model Services Contract has been developed for service contracts with a value over £10 million and in particular those for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and for IT delivery services.

The revised contract addresses key areas such as limiting liability, pricing mechanisms, performance management, supply chain protection and intellectual property rights. It also covers current priority areas such as promoting tax compliance, open book contracting and transparency.

The revised contract is designed to be as user friendly as possible and, as it contains all the necessary drafting around the latest case law developments and legislative changes, will allow in-house counsel to provide contracts quickly, safe in the knowledge they are correct.

The benefits extend to the private sector too. Once it has been rolled out, a standardised approach will allow the private sector to decide how to react and respond to contracts and risk allocation when bidding for opportunities with government.

At November's public sector ThinkHouse event, Sarah Sasse addressed questions around the key principles of contracting with government.