2.3.1 The main objective behind Bates Recommendation 11 is for Government as a whole to become a more "intelligent purchaser" of advisory support. Public procurers need good quality commercial advice from firms with a good track record. The cheapest is not necessarily the best (although expense alone is no guarantee of quality either). Even "experienced" advisers may not have got it right before or they may have performed a different role.
2.3.2 With this in mind, and given the pitfalls of implementing a formal accreditation system as described above, the Taskforce identified a number of immediate actions which, if implemented, would be in line with the spirit of the underlying objective:
• better appointment and management of advisers;
• improved take-up of references;
• improved monitoring and evaluation of advisers' performance; and
• an assessment of the quality of external advice as part of the Taskforce's "signing off" criteria for assessing the commercial viability of "significant" PFI projects.
2.3.3 The Taskforce believes that the wide dissemination of best practice procurement guidance through this Note and other guidance material, combined with more focused public sector PFI training, should reduce the amount of external advice needed over the longer term (particularly on basic project management and PFI procurement procedures). and ensure that only the right quality of advice is bought.
2.3.4 This note highlights the particular importance of taking up references from relevant parties who have experience of using prospective advisers e.g. other government departments. To help procurers, Sections 4 and 5 outline a new Taskforce recommended process for organising and taking up references which, it is hoped, will quickly become established practice at departmental level.
2.3.5 Over the medium term, as external advisers continue to be engaged on PFI projects, the Taskforce will continue to evaluate their performance, keeping open the option of developing a more formal accreditation system should the quality of external advice remain a cause for concern.