3.14 Despite seeking a relationship with a partner that is dependent on trust, the Agency took the view that trust would take time to develop and might not always be maintained. Entering into a contract for seven years, the Agency were aware that staff and management changes risked eroding established good working relationships. The Agency therefore placed behind the partnership a contractual framework to protect their interests.
3.15 The Agency recognised that the partnership had to operate within a framework of a sound contract. We received advice from Simmons and Simmons, a firm of solicitors, that the rights and obligations described in the nine contracts that comprise the deal are, in general, clear enough to function effectively in the absence of a collaborative relationship with CMG. This approach is now recommended in the PFI Treasury Taskforce's guidance, "Standardisation of PFI Contracts -Information Technology" published in April 2000.