2.10 In addition to considering carefully the impacts of potential savings on services, savings that require contract changes need to be considered carefully in light of the costs of implementing necessary changes to the contract. Implementation costs could include legal, technical and financial advisory fees, survey costs and financial modelling costs for the authority, the PFI provider and/or its lenders and sub contractors. Where there is a concern that savings will be outweighed by implementation costs the Authority could consider deferring the implementation of the change so it is implemented alongside other changes to the contract.
2.11 In addition, authorities should be aware that the consent of senior lenders and/or investors may be required, particularly for more material changes to the contract that may affect risk profiles. Obtaining change consents can be a time consuming process (particularly where bond holder approvals are required for bond financed projects).