The aim of this chapter is to look more closely at contracting as a state activity. In light of the pursuit of new forms of governance what better to examine than the functional development of contract in the economic sphere as a way of delivering public services and infrastructures? We have selected two types of regime of great importance in the changing landscape of law and administration. Exhibiting a wide variety of designs, the first one, public franchising, highlights the overlap of contractual with regulatory techniques of governance. As well as contract as a source of administrative rules, there is a significant history here of deficiencies in, and attempts to improve, the procedure and accountability of agencies. Our second selection, public/private partnerships and ‘the private finance initiative’ (PPP/PFI), wears a distinct political hue, this being the favoured child of New Labour. There is a pervasive sense of experimentation — sometimes, it must be said, at the expense of the taxpayer — coupled with levels of contractual detail that can appear almost wilfully complex. The question of the extent to which risks in public enterprise can in fact be passed to the private sector is sharply posed.

The franchising technique

Franchising as a tool of governance is operative today across a diverse range of activities, from London buses to legal aid, and from cable television to the National Lottery. Harnessing private enterprise in the delivery of services, this fresh lease of life for an old technique epitomises the influence of NPM and the rise in administrative law of contract-type arrangements. The Conservatives' legacy is manifest.