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Contact: Mike Debney 07961 630796

UK MOD CONTRACT CONDITIONS & PRICING OF SINGLE SOURCE CONTRACTS - TRAINING AND CONSULTANCY

Welcome to the home page of Defcon Training Limited.  Our expertise is in the pricing of UK MoD single source contracts and our in-depth knowledge of the UK MoD Defence conditions (DEFCON's), and any additional special UK MoD contract conditions that may apply to an ITT or ITN. 

What do we do  

We provide a training course for the Pricing of UK MoD single source contracts under the Defence Reform Act 2014 (DRA) and the Single Source Contract Regulations 2014 (SSCR). This course is applicable to both Qualifying Defence Contracts and Qualifying Sub-Contracts and now also addresses the changes made by the Single Source Contract (Amendment) Regulations 2018 that came into force in 2018 and 2019.

We also provide cost effective consultancy & on-site training courses at our clients premises with respect to the processes and procedures relating to contracting with the UK Ministry of Defence (UK MoD) and its prime contractors. We can advise on the procurement process and are specialists in the understanding and interpretation of the UK MoD Defence Conditions of Contract (UK MoD DEFCONs).

DEFCONs are standard form conditions of contract that are referred to in UK MoD Invitations to Tender (ITTs) or Invitations to Negotiate (ITNs) and awarded contracts/purchase orders.  

While many DEFCONs are normally acceptable to UK MoD contractors a number of key DEFCONs will often require clarification/amendment to protect the contractor in contracts other than those for commercial off the shelf goods where the risk to the contractor in the supply of the goods or services to the UK MoD is low. We can assist prospective contractors to the UK MoD to formulate a contractual response to an UK MoD ITT or ITN.

A contractors response to a number of DEFCONs will normally also be dependant on that contractors position in the supply chain for the UK MoD project. A sub-contractor will wish to ensure that the flow down of the DEFCONs from the main contractor does not create unreasonable liabilities in the case of his non performance. A main contractor will need to ensure that the proposed subcontract incorporates all the DEFCONs that he is required to flow down by the terms of the main contract.

We can also advise on any special conditions of contract that are included in an ITT or ITN in addition to the standard form DEFCONs. It is normally within the special conditions of contract that the UK MoD will incorporate any rights that it may have in relation to recovering liquidated damages for the late supply of goods or to receive service credits for services that do not meet the contracted requirements.

The UK MoD has recently restated its intention to obtain compensation from contractors for any non-performance and hence ensuring the remedies the UK MoD has under the contract for non-performance are clearly defined is essential.

The UK MoD have recently issued a new DEFCON 514 dealing with material breach to replace DEFCON 614 (default) that is being retired from use. The new DEFCON 514 covers a larger scope than the old DEFCON 614 and mirrors the common law position of allowing termination for any material breach of the contract rather than termination being limited to that caused by a delay in delivery per DEFCON 614. The UK MoD have also retired DEFCON 92 addressing termination of R&D contracts and introduced DEFCON 514A in its place for Failure of Performance under R&D contracts. It is important to be clear under DEFCON 514A what is the technical and scientific scope of the contract to which DEFCON 514A will apply and this should include Contractor Deliverables and not just services if the Contractor Deliverables are an integral part of the technical and scientific work of the contract.

Pricing Support

Our UK MoD DEFCON (UK MoD Defence Conditions) consultants are also qualified accountants and can advise on the pricing of non-competitive contracts with the UK Ministry of Defence including Target Cost Incentive Fee (TCIF) pricing arrangements.

Defence Reform Act 2014 & Single Source Contract Regulations 2014

Defcon Training Limited has introduced a dedicated course to provide an overview of pricing of UK MoD single source contracts under the Defence Reform Act (DRA) and the Single Source Contract Regulations (SSCR). The course also addresses the statutory guidance issued by the Single Source Regulations Office. Please contact us for details and course pricing. Copies of the new UK MoD DEFCON 810 series pricing related DEFCONS for single source contracts that do not fall under the DRA & SSCR are available on our resources page.

We have developed a website dedicated to the Pricing of UK MoD single source contracts - please follow this link Pricing of UK MoD Single Source Contracts

Single Source Contract Baseline Profit Rate: 

The SSRO recommended baseline profit rate for 2020/2021 is 8.23% subject to adjustments in accordance with the issued statutory SSRO guidance.

Defence & Security Accelerator - Intellectual Property Rights

We can provide advice and assistance to SME organisations who are providing proposals in support of the Defence and Security Accelerator initiative where the intellectual property right provisions of DEFCON 705 and DEFCON 703 will apply. Our DEFCON resources page also has a DEFCON 705 PDF download and DEFCON 703 PDF download available.