4.1 The Government is encouraging authorities to examine the potential for operational savings in PFI projects and this guidance has identified a number of areas in which savings might be possible. Although PFI projects benefit from following a standard contract (versions 1-4), there is still a great deal of variation amongst projects, particularly at the operational level.
4.2 Given the risk of undermining risk transfer within a PFI contract, it is recommended that specialist support is sought before implementing any of these measures unless the Authority is experienced in this area. Failure to do so could potentially result in short term savings at the expense of long term VfM.
4.3 It is also important that authorities consider the costs and benefits of implementing any changes early on and plan any measures to minimise implementation costs. This could include agreeing a range of measures across a number of projects at the same time.
4.4 There are a number of sources of information available to authorities including:
• Operational Taskforce guidance including Benchmarking and Market Testing Guidance, Project Transition Guidance (which includes best practice contract management advice) and the Variations Protocol for Operational Projects1;
• A projects database which includes information about PPP contracts which can be used for comparison purposes or to establish common circumstances between projects2; and
• National Audit Office reports (http://www.nao.org.uk).
4.5 Additionally, advice should be sought from bodies such as:
• Departmental PFUs;
• Local Partnerships (020 7296 6777 or enquiries@localpartnerships.org.uk); and
• IUK's Operational Taskforce (020 7270 5511 or operationaltaskforce@hmtreasury.gsi.gov.uk)
4.6 There are also many sources of support that should be considered such as advisors and providers of contract management training.
___________________________________________________________________________________
1 http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ppp_operational_taskforce.htm
2 Projects Database (http://www.partnershipsuk.org.uk/PUK-Projects-Database.aspx)