Monthly Archives: October 2012

West Coast Franchise – Questions for the Minister Almost everyone is familiar with the Minister’s announcement about the West Coast Railway Franchise. It is interesting to see the commentaries emanating from all sources – being wise after the event. Readers of our briefings (see Brian Farrington Ltd news August 29th 2012) will recall that instantly […]

The UK is probably 8 – 12 years behind USA experience with outsourced contracts. It has been evident for some time that in-sourcing was taking place at an increasing pace, particularly with IT contracts. Unsurprisingly, the public sector has had mixed experiences with outsourced contracts for a wide variety of services. The UNISON bargaining web-site […]

Branson’s Pickle At the time of going to press it is reported that Virgin Trains have asked for a Judicial Review of the decision to award the InterCity West Coast Franchise to a competitor. The Department of Transport’s procurement actions will be scrutinised and no doubt their Invitation to Tender dated 20 January 2012 will […]

ALL CHANGE! Today’s risk is not about Virgin Trains losing the West Coast Franchise. It is about the resistance buyers get when they suggest using a new supplier. How many ‘reasons’ can you think of to block such a change? Here are some we have encountered: –          Their quality won’t be any good –          They […]