Images could spell out 'contractual rights and obligations' in government contracts, says official

The move would be part of a broader initiative to simplify government contracts, according to the 'Digital Marketplace' blog. The Digital Marketplace is the online platform that government buyers and other public sector users can use to buy cloud-based IT products and services.

"We think there are instances when images would help users to understand contractual rights and obligations," Warren Smith, head of strategy at Government Digital Service, said in the blog. "During the design workshops we started to explore the use of visual representations, for example diagrams and icons, to communicate contractual elements such as rights, obligations, timelines and dates."

Smith also outlined his vision for greater collaboration to take place on the wording of government contracts. He said "digital tools and techniques" could be utilised to achieve this.

"This could make it easier for contract drafters in government to collaborate on possible variations to standard clauses, in a way that’s controlled and auditable by the contract owners," Smith said.

"We believe that open, digital and visual contracts, which are easier and faster to create and implement, are needed to support building better services across government. We’ll continue to work closely with service delivery teams in departments, our suppliers, and beyond," he said.

Smith said that steps are already being taken to simplify contracts under the government's Digital Services Framework.

Plans have already been initiated to ensure those contracts are drafted in plain English, that a two line limit on sentences is applied and that "important contractual information" is contained in summaries at the top of the contracts, he said.

Under the plans, standardised contractual terms that apply across the digital service contracts will also be excluded from the body of the contracts and instead available to read online via links in the contracts, Smith said. He also said he wants important data contained in the contracts to be made more accessible.

"We want to make government contracts more open," Smith said. "This will mean that the data in a contract, such as details of the goods and services being bought and total value of the award, can be more easily disclosed in a reusable and machine-readable format. Data held within the contract will align with the Open Contracting Data Standard schema."

IT contracts expert David McIlwaine of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: "Contracts really serve two principal purposes. One is to make clear parties' rights and obligations, and the other is to serve to protect the parties. That protection element is of critical importance and may necessitate a degree of complexity in the drafting, for example when specifying the parties' liabilities under the contract. It is important that contracts do not compromise protection for parties in a search for simplicity and clarity."