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Decision details

FPIO-01-17: INTENTION The adoption of electronic "e" signatures for executing formal contracts valued below the EU Supplies and Services threshold

Decision Maker: Cabinet Member for Public Health, Leisure, Libraries, Facilities Management, and Operational Assets

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: No

Is subject to call in?: Yes

Purpose:

To improve the process for execution of contracts by allowing e-signatures to be used by Officers to execute the subject contracts, except where Legal requirements preclude it, such as deeds and other documents to be registered at the Land Registry. 

Decision:

Following consultation with officers I give notice that I have made the decision set out in the attached report.

 

This decision was published on 18 December 2017 and will come into force on 28 December 2017.

Reasons for the decision:

To reduce waste, improve efficiency and adopt more commercially acceptable practice.  This will allow Officers to finalise and e-mail simple contracts speedily and securely, rather than continue with the current protracted administrative burden of printing multiple hard copies, managing their signature by the parties by post as well as the subsequent document storage by Legal Services.  It will further reduce postal physical document storage requirements/costs and support faster access to contract documents when they are retrieved.

Alternative options considered:

3.         Options were:

a.         Continue with the current requirement to execute these contracts with a “wet” i.e. ink signature.

b.         Improve the process to eliminate wasted activity and speed up the process by permitting e-signatures for the subject contracts.  An e-signature might be a scanned image of a signature or the name typed into the document and sent from the senders e-mail account.

Other reasons / organisations consulted

There has been no formal consultation on this issue and there is no legal requirement to do so.

 

Contact: Greg Lewis, Places Category Manager Email: greg.lewis@wiltshire.gov.uk Email: greg.lewis@wiltshire.gov.uk.

Publication date: 07/12/2017

Date of decision: 18/12/2017

Effective from: 28/12/2017

Accompanying Documents: