4.15 One of the key features of PFI was the principle of whole life costing, to ensure that assets were appropriately maintained over the project's life. This meant that at the project's outset it was necessary for the public sector to prescribe the end-of-project-life asset hand back conditions.
4.16 While this approach ensured the asset was maintained over the long term, it did not allow flexibility for the authority's priorities or requirements for the asset to change over the period of the contract. In future PF2 projects the public sector will continue to prescribe the asset hand back conditions at the project outset, but authorities will be given flexibility to change these hand back requirements if this better meets the authority's needs or provides an opportunity for savings for the public sector. Further information about the approach to handback is set out at 9.6 (Relaxation of Handback Requirements) of the Standardisation of PF2 Contracts.