The Education Client Unit is responsible for letting the school meals catering contract, agreeing the specification for school meals, agreeing the contract meal price annually, agreeing variations to contract, agreeing any defaults, and providing independent impartial catering contract advice and management support services to schools.
The Education Client Unit is responsible for monitoring the performance of the contract on behalf of the schools and carries out client side annual audits. Contract advice and management support at cost for an annual retainer fee. The contract for the provision of the school meals service in Bristol was awarded to Bristol Contract Services from August 2003.
Schools renewing their contract with Bristol Contract Services are in the retained agreement - A five year agreement from August 2003 to July 2008 with a get-out clause that any school at any time for whatever reason can leave the contract giving one term's notice.
Bristol Contract Services is a trading division within Bristol City Council. The catering agreement incorporates the Specification, Pricing Document, the Service Improvement Plan, Improvement Notice and Default System Guidelines.