Q8.  Should the public sector comparator include the value of the pre-existing assets required to provide the service? How should these assets be valued?

A. The value of all pre-existing assets should be included in the public sector comparator. Virtually all pre-existing assets will have an alternative use to government and/or a market value that is the basis for estimating the opportunity cost. Very occasionally, there is no alternative use for a pre-existing asset so that the opportunity cost is zero and the asset represents sunk costs.