Essential to getting good value for money is a procurement process that is as fully competitive as possible throughout the whole period of the procurement.
Part of this competition arises from use of the public sector comparator. The public sector comparator (PSC) is a risk-weighted model of the costs associated with a proposal under a government-financed method of delivery. It serves a dual purpose of helping to decide whether to adopt the PFP approach or otherwise, then helping to negotiate the best agreement.
So we looked to see whether:
■ the processes for awarding the privately financed partnership schools contracts were sufficiently competitive and transparent
■ DET had properly evaluated all aspects of the bids received and then chose as preferred bidder the one which offered it best value
■ the assumptions used in the public sector comparator appeared reasonable.
We did not conduct a probity audit. Government guidelines required that a probity auditor be appointed to monitor the bid process throughout and provide advice to the steering committee and the CEO of DET. This was done and the probity auditor issued a number of reports testifying to the adequacy of arrangements from a probity perspective.