10. We have heard from several sources that the presence of private finance has brought more rigour and clarity to the specification of new infrastructure. Do you agree?
No, certainly not in the case of hospitals and it is hard to see why it should provide more rigour. And as the NAO puts it; "Sometimes we find that the process of tendering for PFI can hinder innovation and the design process" (NAO October 2009, paragraph 2.25). The NAO then gives four reasons in its evidence why this may be so.