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DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SECURITY
The Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HT
Telephone: H
Gtn. 391
Jonathon Evans
Network Director
Post Office Counters Ltd
King Edward Building
King Edward Street
LONDON
ECIA 1AA
19 November 1998
dor Fri ?
BA/POCL AUTOMATION PROJECT: LEGAL ADVICE
1. I wrote to you on 9 November about an approach your legal team had made to Bird.
& Bird around POCL concerns over a potential conflict of interest for the Joint Programme
Lawyer in providing DSS/BA, POCL and the Ministers involved, with the legal advice they
need in relation to the three contracts governing the BA/POCL Automation Project.
2. We discussed the issues both before and after I sent that letter, and my understanding
is that we - the guardians of our respective organisations’ interests in this matter - are agreed
about the role the Programme Lawyer can play in providing advice for his two clients,
including Ministers, on the operation of the relevant contracts. As you may be aware, there
is already a set of agreed ground rules in the provision of such advice. Under these ground
rules and the terms of the contracts under which the Programme Lawyer provides advice to
us and yourselves, both parties are free to call on his advice as required. As you know, so
far as DSS/BA is concerned, our Ministers and their official advisors choose to draw heavily
on the expertise of the Programme Lawyer as a valuable resource in helping us understand
the operation of the contracts and the consequent implications for any given course of action;
equally, it is open to POCL to draw unilaterally on the Programme Lawyer's advice - as they
have done in the past. .
3. I was therefore very surprised to see the letter from Dave Miller to George
McCorkell, suggesting that there should be constraints on our organisations' individual ability
to seek the Programme Lawyer's advice on the relevant contracts. So far as we are aware,
there is nothing in the contractual or other agreed arrangements about the provision of advice
from Bird & Bird that would justify the restrictions Dave Miller proposes. It is unacceptable
that our Secretary of State and his advisors should be constrained in their ability to call on
the advice of the Programme Lawyer in relation to the project. George McCorkell will be
writing to Dave Miller accordingly.
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4, It is also of some concern to me that there seem to be so many different players now
involved in pursuing issues around the provision of the legal advice for which we have
contracted from the Programme Lawyer. Hence this letter which , as before, seeks to draw
in the various interests and ensure that all are aware of the wider context against which
specific issues should be set. In this regard, we believe it would be helpful for the two legal
teams representing our respective organisations - DSS/BA and POCL - to get together as soon
as possible to sort out any specific issues around the way we are drawing on the Joint
Programme Lawyer's advice. Marilynne Morgan, the DSS Solicitor, will be contacting
Catherine Churchard to arrange this.
5. Ido hope we can now draw a line under these various exchanges about the provision
of legal advice. In short, I hope we can agree:
. where DSS/BA and/or POCL.are seeking advice on the relevant contracts,
there are satisfactory, agreed procedures in place for how that should be
handled; if there are any specific concerns on this front, our respective legal
teams should attempt to sort them out;
° DSS/BA or POCL are free to seek advice unilaterally from the Programme
Lawyer in accordance with these agreed arrangements and procedures;
. there is no current conflict of interest between DSS and POCL which, under
Law Society rules, would cut across this freedom.
6. I am copying this to Catherine Churchard, Dave Miller, Marilynne Morgan and
George McCorkell. Also to David Harriss at Bird & Bird, with whom I believe Catherine
Churchard is in touch on some of the issues covered in this letter.
MRS SARAH GRAHAM
Department of Social Security
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