Orders for Work, Goods, and Services

Question

Our local PC Standing Orders state:

 

"An official order or letter shall be issued for all work, goods, and services unless a formal contract is to be prepared or an official order would be inappropiate"

The next section reference Contracts states:

Every contract shall comply with these financial regulations, and no exceptions shall be made otherwise than in an emergency provided that these regulations shall not apply to contracts which relate to item i) below:

i) for specialist services such as provided by solicitors, accountants, surveyors and planning consultants.

My question: Is an order required for an architect to design a new Village Hall.

 

 

Answer 1

It would appear not.  There is some uncertainty in the phrase "an official order would be inappropiate".  More significantly, an architect would appear to be covered by item (i).  Typically, there are particular methods of charging that are applied by professional providers.

That's not to say that there shouldn't have been some kind of fully documented contractual arrangement, approved by the council.