3.3 Having established that there were no realistic alternatives to enhancing NIRS 2 for the majority of requirements, the Inland Revenue explored the contractual options for procuring the additional NIRS 2 development work. Three options were available:
■ negotiating a contract extension with Accenture;
■ asking Accenture to provide additional resources to meet the Inland Revenue's increased development requirement, above the contracted level, by means of the Department of Social Security framework agreement;
■ exercising the break clause in the original contract and holding a new competition for the continuing operation and development of the system.
3.4 The Inland Revenue opened discussions with Accenture about purchasing the additional work. In response, Accenture developed proposals for a dedicated facility to manage software development work, termed the Design Build and Run facility, which would help provide a consistent and reliable service for the delivery of enhancements. In return for the Inland Revenue providing advance notice of their resource requirements, Accenture felt able to offer the Department lower rates per staff day than the Department of Social Security framework rates, which were the alternative charging mechanism for work in excess of 2,000 function points per annum.