Treatment of Assets on Expiry of Service Period - Section 20 and Surveys on Expiry and Termination - Section 23

68  Section 20 of SoPC deal with the options open to a Local Authority at the end of a PFI Contract.  Section 20.4 deals with handover provisions for assets that transfer to a Local Authority.  The Model Contract includes appropriate drafting in this respect.  Section 20.5 of SoPC, which sets a regime for payment by the Local Authority for Assets with an alternative use, has not been incorporated into the Model Contract as it is unlikely to be relevant to social care PFI projects.

69  A key issue for Local Authorities to consider will be to identify the 'tests' that are required at the end of the contract term to demonstrate that the specified requirements have been met.  The social care projects in operation have specified hand-back requirements in terms of the residual life of the facilities.  The choice of hand-back condition is an issue for local discretion and will be partly determined by the affordability of different options.

70  Section 23 of SoPC includes required drafting on surveys on termination which has been incorporated into the Model Contract.