Sarah Foster

Legal Director, DAC Beachcroft

Sarah is a Legal Director at DAC Beachcroft and specialises in commercial and public procurement law.

Having a strong commercial/projects background, after advising large, national public sector organisations for over 12 years, Sarah approaches public procurement advice from a pragmatic and solution focussed angle with the ability to see the “bigger picture”. Sarah has undertaken highly complex project structuring advice for clients including for Department of Health and Social Care, the Cabinet Office, the Department for Education and multiple NHS trusts jointly working within an integrated care system. Clients praise her commerciality and practical approach to dealing with difficult legal issues and is a go-to contact for many clients seeking sensible and pragmatic legal advice. She provides tailored commercial advice to clients, facilitating innovative solutions and successful outcomes.

Sarah is an expert in understanding the regulatory framework in which public sector clients operate. She regularly advises on all forms of template public sector contracts including the Model Services Contract and NHS Terms and Conditions. She has worked with NHS England to produce the NHS Standard Contract over a number of years.

Key projects include:

• Advising NHS trusts on large-scale IT procurements

• Assisting providers in establishing digital health services within the NHS, addressing commercial, regulatory, and strategic considerations

• Supporting a central government body in procuring a national logistics and distribution service

• Leading two major multi-lot procurement processes for a national commissioner of complex cancer services, overseeing project management, and providing commercial and procurement advice

Contributed to

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Vertical and horizontal arrangements—PA 2023

Practice Notes

This Practice Note explains the concepts of vertical and horizontal arrangements in the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023). It explains what such arrangements are and how the arrangements are exempt if all of the prescribed requirements are met. It also covers how such arrangements are established and operated.

Public Law

Procurement Act 2023—key changes

Checklists

STOP PRESS: As of 24 February 2025, the main provisions of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) are in force. Procurements begun on or after this date must be carried out under PA 2023, whereas those begun under the previous legislation (the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Regulations 2016, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011) must continue to be procured and managed under that legislation. See Practice Note: Introduction to the Procurement Act 2023—PA 2023.IntroductionThe Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) is the new legislation that will govern public procurement. It will replace the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), SI 2015/102, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 (UCR 2016), SI 2016/274, the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 (CCR 2016), SI 2016/273 and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (DSPCR 2011), SI 2011/1848. On 12 September 2024, the government announced that the go-live date for PA 2023 will be delayed until 24 February 2025.Key

Public Law