Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
Defra's Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programme (WIDP) uses its team of transactors to support projects managed and led by Local Authorities. These transactors form a key part of the programme's efforts to accelerate delivery of waste PFI targets towards the achievement of the UK's European Union obligations to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfills.
Transactors provide a link between the central programme and local delivery, and a source of expert advice and guidance for Local Authorities to call upon. They are drawn from a central pool of experts with commercial and technical expertise. Most are seconded from either Partnerships UK or Local Partnerships. They provide a single point of contact for a Local Authority and the programme, each covering up to three projects. They are in turn supported by the programme's network of dedicated advisors covering technical, legal, commercial and financial aspects of the programme. They work with Local Authorities from project initiation through to financial close. The relationship between transactors and Local Authorities is set out in a formal Memorandum of Understanding agreed before the project is initiated.
The transactors provide a service to local projects in the form of advice, guidance and integration into the benefits of belonging to a wider programme. But they also provide central programme oversight by collecting management information and reporting on local risks, issues and opportunities to build a coherent and live overview of the programme. This intimate project knowledge is crucial in enabling WIDP to provide effective scrutiny of its investment pipeline and prepare projects for the market.
The transactor network carries a further benefit since they can build on the synergies between projects by working with one another to share knowledge and lessons across projects.
HM Treasury
HM Treasury manages and Chairs the Project Review Group (PRG). The group consists of a panel of experts appointed in their individual capacity and selected on the basis of their knowledge and experience of PFI.
The PRG acts as the approval point for the allocation of PFI credits to Local Authorities' PFI projects. Projects are assessed on the basis of value for money, affordability and deliverability. The PRG makes its decision on whether PFI credits should be allocated based on an extensive review of the project's Outline Business Case and interviews with the project delivery team. Between four and six panel members attend each meeting, the selection being based on the relevant knowledge of each of the panel members to the projects being seen.
Recently, HM Treasury expanded the PRG process to include central Departments' PFI projects. It is expected that the PRG will be able to provide better scrutiny and support to these projects than previous HM Treasury approval points, due to the members' expert knowledge of PFI.
The PRG process takes place immediately before the issuing of a project's Official Journal of the European Union notice and ensures that the project is ready to go to market. It complements existing Departmental and OGC scrutiny and assurance processes.