Improving flexibility of services provision
4.5 To improve the flexibility of service provision the range of services included in the PF2 model will be reduced. Soft services, such as cleaning and catering, will be excluded from the contract, other than in exceptional circumstances. These services will be provided separately via shorter term contracts or directly by the authority, which will provide the public sector with the flexibility to alter service specifications over time. Procuring authorities will also have discretion over the inclusion of certain minor maintenance activities at the project outset. There will be additional flexibility to add or remove certain 'elective services', such as external window cleaning, once a contract is in operation. These elective services will be at a pre-agreed price, and can be added or removed from the project without the need to re-run the financial model. In order to provide greater flexibility at contract expiry, authorities will be able to adapt their requirements for the handback condition of the asset to ensure it meets their expected future needs.
Box 4.B: Example of operational flexibility under PF2 contracts Under a PFI contract, using a school outside of school hours has to be agreed with the PFI contractor, because the contractor's security staff must open and close the school, and there may be additional charges for cleaning and related services. These costs are charged to the public sector. Under PF2, services such as security and cleaning will be excluded from contracts. This will enable schools to open up their facilities for use outside of core school hours, without incurring these additional charges, enabling greater local use of the community facilities. |
4.6 An overarching summary of the treatment of services in future projects is set out in Table 4.A below.
Table 4.A: Responsibility for service provision in PF2
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