3.6 National Savings, however, identified two potential risks in such a deal. First, in transferring the entire operational service to a single private sector provider, it would be dependent on the selected partner for a service that is central to its success in achieving its objectives. This would create risks if the relationship with the provider faltered or the partner became unwilling to develop the operational service in a cost-effective manner and in the direction National Savings' strategy required. Second, a long-term contract raised the prospect of the cost and quality of the service diverging over time from the best available in the market.
3.7 National Savings, therefore, sought to protect itself from being reliant on a single partner in a long-term contract. To ensure future affordability, the Invitation to Negotiate sought firm prices for the specified operational service for each year of the contract, depending on forecast transaction volumes. To maintain a service equivalent to that available elsewhere, costs and quality would also be benchmarked at regular intervals during the life of the contract against the best available in the market. The outcome of these benchmarking exercises would be limited to downward only price movements and/or improvements in quality of service.