Some authorities questioned contractors' commitment to improvements
3.15 Authorities should not be satisfied with methods of service delivery which do not keep pace with developments. They and contractors should, therefore, be exploring the scope within the contract for improving either the standard or the pricing of services. Almost all contractors (94 per cent) said that they were committed to continuous improvement of the service. 24 per cent of authorities did not consider, however, that their contractors were committed to joint working towards continuous improvement.
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| Contractors' views of how openness and honesty affect relationships | ||
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| Examples | Extent of openess and honesty | Examples |
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| Bay Community National Health Service Trust 'The external stresses on both sides throughout the PFI process have necessitated openness between the parties to resolve the problems. Once established this has become the norm.' | All of the time 24 per cent of projects | Army Mail 'We are fully integrated as one team, we work on an open book policy , there is mutual trust between the partners.' |
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| National Savings 'The relationship is the most open and trustworthy one that I have ever experienced. However, more still needs to be done on both sides to get everyone living these values.' | Most of the time 65 per cent of projects | National Insurance Recording System 2 (after contract addendum) 'This is one of the key principles we work under. For the most part the relationship is open and honest but this needs constant work and has been difficult to achieve.'1 |
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| Onley Prison 'The level of trust between the authority and the contractor depends upon personal and professional relationships, which take some time to establish.'3 | Some of the time Rarely or not at all 11 per cent of projects | National Insurance Recording System 2 (before contract addendum) 'The contractually adversarial approach used to manage the contract limited the opportunity for an open and honest relationship.'2 |
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| NOTE 1. Both parties consider that there relationship is now operating on partnership principles. The current relationship is described as open, trusting and effective in managing the contract. 2. The constraints of the first PFI IT contract enforced a contractually adversarial approach which limited the opportunity for an open and honest relationship. 3. Now that Onley Prison is operational, the contractor considers that the relationship is open and honest most of the time. Source: National Audit Office survey of contractors | ||
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| Contractors' perceptions of opportunities to be innovative |
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Percentage of contractors surveyed |
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| Source: National Audit Office survey of contractors |
