The first part of this chapter introduces the different types of government contract currently in use in central and local government. It identifies the three broad types of contracting activity that will be the focus of the book: procurement, contracting out, and the Private Finance Initiative and other Public/Private Partnerships. The chapter also identifies some other types of government contracts (employment contracts, ‘internal’ contracts) and explains why they are not to be examined in detail in the book. In the second part of the chapter, some key sectors of government contracting activity are examined: defence, information technology, transport, health, housing, and social care. The aim is to give an overview of how government uses contracts and some of the problems to which they give rise.
Keywords: procurement, contracting out, Private Finance Initiative, Public/Private Partnerships, defence, information technology, transport, health, housing, social care