1.24 The National Audit Office outsourced the study through competitive tender to Lorien plc, who worked in close liaison with National Audit Office staff throughout. The factual content of the report has been agreed with the Inland Revenue, in accordance with our normal practice.
1.25 During the investigation, Lorien:
■ interviewed key personnel in the Department, including Board Members and Directors with responsibility and accountability for strategic and project investment, and prioritisation decisions;
■ interviewed senior staff in EDS, including the then Chief Executive and the Inland Revenue Division Account Manager;
■ reviewed, by examining documentation and interviewing key staff, the Department's procedures for commissioning new work;
■ examined a sample of 12 projects undertaken by EDS since 1994, including some started by the Department and transferred to EDS, to see how the Department's procedures had worked in practice;
■ carried out a survey of 45 Inland Revenue staff with important roles in the management of the partnership, including the commissioning of new work, to establish how their skills are maintained and developed.
1.26 For each of the twelve projects in the sample, Lorien interviewed staff from the Inland Revenue and EDS with a major role in the development and examined key documents, such as specifications, EDS proposals and business cases. At the time of the examination, some of these projects had been completed and others were in their early stages. They were chosen, with the agreement of the Department, as a representative range of projects likely to be carried out under the contract. Details of the projects are at Appendix 3.