3.59 In general, interface risk between the different services provided under the contract is the responsibility of the PFI provider. If a service is taken out of the contract and delivered separately then this interface risk may be increased and, depending on how the service is substituted, it is possible that the potential savings will be offset to some degree.
3.60 The impact of this will vary between sectors. For instance, when services have been removed from PFI hospital contracts there have not been significant increases in PFI provider costs as the hospital is an open environment and there are other services delivered at the hospital which are not provided by the PFI provider. A prison, however, may be an example where using a separate contractor leads to increased security costs or operational concerns.
3.61 If a service is removed from the contract and delivered separately, a clear interface/risk matrix would need to be incorporated into both the PFI contract and the new service provider contract to reduce the scope for confusion, dispute and (potentially) cost duplication.
3.62 If a removed service is no longer required, interface is not an issue but the Authority should be certain that the removed service is not likely to be required for the foreseeable future.