appointment of a contractor by reference directly to the agreed terms and conditions or by holding a competition inviting only the partners to the framework agreement to submit specific commercial proposals. In the public sector, a number of Central Purchasing Bodies exist whose purposes include the creation and management of framework agreements which are compliant with EU Procurement Directives and available for use by designated public bodies. In the United Kingdom, examples include Crown Commercial Service, local authority consortia such as the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) and Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO), and consortia operating in the higher and further education sectors: APUC (in Scotland), Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC), London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC), North Eastern Universities Purchasing Consortium (NEUPC), North Western Universities Purchasing Consortium (NWUPC), and Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC). For a more complete list, see List of central purchasing bodies in the United Kingdom The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply makes a distinction between a "framework contract" and a "framework agreement". Under a framework contract, some form of consideration is paid "up front" to secure the commitment of the supplier to the agreed terms and conditions. The value of the consideration may be for a nominal amount only. A framework agreement, or an "umbrella agreement", lacks consideration and therefore lacks obligation: a "pricing formula" may apply for a period of time (e.g. a price list) or prices and further details may be determined via a "mini-competition". References International law