9. Experience has shown that the contractual Change mechanisms in existing MOD PFI contracts, and particularly those that were signed some years ago, are not always adequate in practice especially for high value Changes or multiple low value Changes6.
10. Through practical experience of implementing Changes in defence PFI projects over time, which has been shared with and influenced by other Government departments, best practice has evolved. This is reflected in the exemplar drafting set out at Addendum 2 to MOD PAv17.
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6 This is a direct quote from para 1.4 of Partnerships UK's Operational Taskforce Note 3: "Variations Protocol for Operational Projects (entered into prior to Standardisation of PFI Contracts version 4)" dated March 2008.
7 This has been drafted using sources which are recommended for accommodation Projects. However, in our survey of acquisition team members, very few significant differences in approach to Change were identified between different types of deals (equipment/accommodation etc). Where significant differences of approach were identified (e.g. competitive tendering for costs of Major Changes may not be feasible in synthetic trainer-type projects), we have tried to indicate this in this Guidance Note.