Neil is a specialist in projects and the public sector. He has worked in that area since qualification, primarily focussing on EU procurement, PPP/PFI projects, education and other complex commercial contracts.
Neil spent three months on secondment to an associated office in Brussels office during his training where he become involved in various aspects of procurement law (including the application of the procurement rules to major PFI/PPP projects) and monitoring the reform, application and implementation of European legislation and development of case law.
Neil’s mix of skills and experience mean he is able to provide specialist procurement as well as contractual advice on his projects from pre-procurement through to contract negotiation and implementation.
Experience
Examples of experience include advising:
- a wide range of UK local authorities, NHS bodies, utilities (transport (rail/bus), post and energy) and other entities covered by the EU procurement rules (including registered housing providers and regional purchasing consortia) on all aspects on procurement law compliance
- First Fire and Rescue Service (a joint venture consortium between Babcock Land and Falck Fire Services UK) on its bid to the Ministry of Defence for its first generation outsourcing of its UK and worldwide defence fire and rescue services
- Durham University on its £90m procurement for two new colleges (comprising 1,000 rooms) and associated facilities under a design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) model. Also advising on the University's subsequent project for the development of up to 6 new colleges as part of its long term strategy for growth
- Department for Education on various commercial and procurement issues relating to a second generation outsourcing of specialist teaching support services
- Education & Skills Funding Agency: seconded to the Education & Skills Funding Agency for 12 months in 2014/15 working primarily on the Free Schools programme as part of the London regional team. This role was a hybrid of in-house lawyer and client as it also involved instructing and managing external legal and technical advisers in the client role.
- LocatED on the application of the EU procurement rules to various turnkey developments for the delivery of various new schools on land owned by third party developers
- Newcastle City Council on the transfer of its leisure estate to a third party leisure operator on the basis of a concession arrangement
- Middlesbrough Council on the transfer of its leisure estate to a third party leisure operator and ongoing operational arrangements
- Northumberland County Council (as local stakeholder and landowner) on its role as part of the private finance element of the Department for Education's PSBP programme for two schools in its area
- Northumbria University on its two procurements for the outsourcing of its FM services for its academic buildings, administrative estate and student accommodation
- London Fire Brigade on its Property PFI project for the development of 9 new stations across London. This project incorporated elements of HMTs new PF2 guidance and was one of the last round of DCLG sponsored projects to complete.
- Building Schools for the Future: lead role in advising the following on their respective BSF projects: St Helens Council (£100m and which involved re-scoping mid-procurement following the BSF programme being ended); the London Borough of Newham (£130m); and South Tyneside and Gateshead Councils on their joint project (£150m)
- North West Fire and Rescue Authorities (comprising Merseyside FRS, Lancashire Combined Fire Authority and Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service) on their joint project for the development of 16 new community fire stations across Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbria
- Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust on its £300m PFI project for the redevelopment of two acute hospitals in Wakefield and Pontefract in West Yorkshire
- Bristol PFI Limited and Barclays (as project company and facility agent respectively) on the variation to the Bristol BSF PFI project to implement a large extension to an existing school mid-way through the operational phase of the project.
- Network Rail on various procurement compliance matters under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and Utilities Contracts 2016.
