5.3 EXPIRY OF CONTRACTs The contracts register holds details of contract expiry dates, and the basic terms of the contract include the option for extending the contract beyond its initially agreed term. A review of the expiry dates of contracts identified that there were a number of expired contracts which continue to be used. Procurement acknowledged not reviewing contracts in time had lead to contracts expiring and a number of gaps in provision and pointed to a lack of responsiveness from the Force to their raising of issues. This again highlights a lack of ownership for the buying decisions of managers in the Force. Locally empowered managers should be alive to the fact that their contracts are coming to and end and be driving the process for their replacement or renewal. Procurement should monitor that this is happening and should not need to drive the process. In practice it is not always clear who is the contract sponsor for a particular contract. This can make it difficult for Procurement to identify a partner to take responsibility and for them to deal with and also means that no action will be taken by the Area/Department as it is not clear where the responsibility lies. Where service provision is not reviewed on a timely basis continuing into an extension penod or finding a quick solution may not be the best way to fulfil the Force's requirement. Further to this, services may be required through suppliers which cease to have current contractual obligations to the Force.