Advisers were appointed after open competition

2.8 The competition for the appointment of advisers was managed on behalf of the Service by the Procurement Service (formerly known as the Government Purchasing Agency). The Service sought to appoint a lead technical adviser who would be responsible for the provision of both legal and financial advisers. It required advice on project management and on the content, award and negotiation of an initial Design, Build, Finance and Operate contract. Government policy is that all procurement should be on the basis of value for money and not lowest price alone. The evaluation of the advisers' bids followed this policy - it was based upon 70 per cent quality and 30 per cent price with the most economically advantageous bid being accepted.