New public sector consultancy agreement

New construction contract for public sector employers has been launched by the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT).

The Consultancy Agreement (Public Sector) (CA) is designed for use by public sector employers who wish to engage a consultant, regardless of discipline, in relation to construction works.

The agreement is written so as to make it appropriate for each member of the construction team regardless of whether their respective appointments are for a limited period or for the duration of the project.

The core of the agreement is a professional duty of care on the part of the consultant, which should be generally acceptable to both consultant and employer on public sector projects.

It seeks to set reasonable limits to activities that are sometimes implied as part of the consultant's obligations.

This is balanced by a requirement for cooperative working with the consultant team, the wider project team, and the client, and a duty to warn.

There is no net contribution provision but there are provisions for caps on liability, which, the JCT considers, provide "a fair balance of risk" between the parties.

Professor Peter Hibberd, JCT secretary general, said: "This new agreement gives public sector clients a standard document that achieves a sharing of risk in a way which the LGA approves".

"It also has the benefit that it can be used by authorities together with their own choice of schedule of services".

The Consultancy Agreement can be used in projects based on any JCT main contract other than the Constructing Excellence (CE) and Homeowners (HO) contracts.

Published by Sweet and Maxwell, the new contract can be purchased via the website or via specialist bookshops such as RICS, RIBA , the Building Bookshop or the Institute of Civil Engineers.

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