The MCA is a frontline delivery and emergency response organisation, which provides a 24 hour maritime and aeronautical search and rescue service around the UK through HM Coastguard, and advises on legislation and guidance for all maritime matters. They were looking for an all-weather, 24/7 capability to provide aerial surveillance to support their search and rescue and counter pollution operations. As with all organisations, the team wanted the project to be as straightforward and effective as possible. The Mills & Reeve team, led by Raith Pickup, provided crucial support to the MCA by drafting the contracts with a bespoke KPI mechanism that meant they were able to reduce the complexity of the process and save time for all organisations involved.
Raith Pickup, Partner at Mills & Reeve said: “Working on any procurement contract is always a challenge and can divert attention away from the day-to-day operations of any organisation. We worked really closely with the team at the Maritime & Coastguard Agency to ensure we came up with contract and procurement solutions that not only achieved their objective but reduced the time and cost needed to get this contract up and running.”
Mills and Reeve has one of the largest teams working across the government sector with 125 lawyers acting for organisations in key areas including projects, finance and banking, litigation, real estate, employment and pensions and tax. Other recent projects have included introducing T Levels, the first technical level qualifications into schools and colleges and advising on the MOD’s Morpheus programme, delivering next generation Tactical and Communication Information Systems.