Reviewing a council contract for a local supplier

A council's standard contract is written for the largest supplier the council will ever use and sent to the smallest, and a local business that wins work from its council signs terms with insurance levels, indemnities and obligations designed for someone else. I review the contract from the supplier's side and return it marked up with an explanation of the changes worth asking for, the ones a council will not make, and how to price what remains, for a fixed fee of £495 in three working days.

Who this is for

Local businesses, tradespeople, consultants and service providers in England and Wales contracting with a local authority, parish or town council, or a council-owned company, for works, services or goods, who have been sent the council's contract or purchase order terms.

What to look for in a council contract

The council's standard terms and what they assume

Councils use standard terms across their purchasing, and the review identifies which apply (purchase order conditions, a services contract, a works contract), what the council has added for this contract, and the order of precedence with the supplier's quotation. The standard terms assume a supplier with a legal department, and the note translates each obligation into what a small business must do.

Insurance, liability and indemnities

Council contracts require public liability, employer's liability and often professional indemnity insurance at levels that can exceed what a small supplier carries, cap the supplier's liability at a stated sum, and add indemnities for injury, property damage, data and IP, and the review checks the insurance levels against the supplier's policies, whether the council will accept lower levels proportionate to the contract value (it sometimes will), and that the indemnities are limited to the supplier's fault.

Freedom of information, transparency and publication

Councils publish their contracts and spending and must respond to requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and the contract will say that the supplier's information may be disclosed and that the supplier must assist, with limited protection for commercially sensitive material, and the review says what the supplier can expect to become public, including the price, and how to mark information it wants withheld, without promising that the marking will be honoured.

Social value, local commitments and compliance

Contracts under the Procurement Act 2023 carry social value commitments the bidder made, local employment or environmental undertakings, and compliance obligations under the Bribery Act 2010, section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the council's own policies on equality and safeguarding, and the review reads each as a contractual obligation with reporting attached, and proposes proportionate wording where a small supplier cannot deliver a national contractor's programme.

Payment, invoicing, termination and change

Councils pay on stated terms against invoices that meet their requirements (purchase order numbers, itemisation, the right entity), and the review flags the invoicing rules that cause delays, the council's termination rights (for convenience, for breach, for the supplier's conduct), the change control procedure, and any obligation to comply with the council's contract management and reporting, and says what each means for a small supplier.

What it costs

Standard review, £495. Marked-up document and a written explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Complex review, £895. Heavily negotiated or unusually complex documents. Five working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the contract review page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• Your own contract returned with my amendments as tracked changes, plus a clean version with every change accepted, ready to send to the other side
• Comments in the document where a point needs explaining
• A written explanation of what I have changed and why, by email or as an attachment if it is lengthy, marking the points I would hold firm on and the ones that are negotiable
• A view on what is normal market practice and what is the other side pushing their luck
• One round of follow-up questions by email, included

What is not included

• Negotiating directly with the other side, which I quote separately once I know who is on the other side. Where the other side is willing to share a live document, I can work in that document directly
• Drafting a replacement contract from scratch
• Advice on the law of any jurisdiction other than England and Wales
• Tax, accounting or regulatory advice
• Disputes about a contract that is already signed

Questions I am often asked

The council wants public liability cover at a level far above the value of the job. Do we need it?

Ask. Councils often apply standard levels and will accept lower cover proportionate to the contract's risk when a supplier explains the position, and the review drafts the request. If the council will not move, the cost of the cover is a price item.

Will our pricing be published?

Probably. Councils publish contract values and may disclose pricing schedules in response to information requests, subject to limited exemptions. The review says what to mark as commercially sensitive and what to assume will be seen.

Can a small supplier change a council's standard terms at all?

Some of them. Insurance levels, notice periods, invoicing practicalities and proportionality of compliance obligations are the points councils change most often for small suppliers; liability caps and indemnities move rarely. The note ranks the requests.

Related guidance and services

• Contract review, £495, the service this page describes
• Terms and conditions drafting, £995
• Reviewing a public sector contract before you bid
• Reviewing a school or academy trust supplier contract

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.