4.1 Broader public sector issues need to be brought within the project governance framework to be managed effectively. Although generally they are intended to ensure value for money, fairness, transparency and accountability and to provide a sound audit trail, these issues can have a significant impact on timely project delivery if they are not handled correctly. Broadly these issues will be matters of government policy objectives and public law. The value of managing these within the project governance mechanisms is that it enables scrutiny at the right level at the right time, allows any conflicts with stakeholder interests to be resolved and enables access to expert advice and best practice, such as legal, accounting, policy and financial expertise. The aim is to help the judgement of stakeholders.
4.2 A number of examples include:
• Freedom of Information and data protection. There can be conflict between the interests of the stakeholders (e.g. operational and commercial sensitivities) and the wish to be as open and informative as possible;
• The need to comply with public law, including the public procurement regulations. Public law places constraints on public sector activity. An example is where a procurement following the Competitive Dialogue route under EU public procurement regulations wishes to make substantive changes post selection of the preferred bidder;
• Policy on terms and conditions of employment for transferring employees and new joiners; e.g. improving affordability should not be at the expense of employees' terms and conditions;
• There can be conflicts of interest among the stakeholders, e.g. scope and quality constraints driven by considerations of affordability, or interfaces with complementary projects;
• Public sector guidance on investment given in the "Green Book - Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government";
• "Government Accounting", for regularity, probity and value for money issues;
• The vires of the public sector to undertake the proposed project; and
• Other public sector constraints and processes, such as obtaining any required SoPC derogations from HM Treasury on PFI projects.
4.3 An effective project governance system can help ensure that public sector requirements are addressed fully and in good time, perhaps in the face of considerable pressures from individual stakeholders, and hence minimise the potential for delaying or disrupting the project.