4.7.1 An internal organisational structure was put in place by the City of Edinburgh Council to provide governance and management of the project during the business case preparation, procurement and preferred bidder stages leading up to financial close of the deal with ESP for the PPP1 schools in Nov 2001. The City of Edinburgh Council structure is described below.
4.7.2 A Project Board, chaired by the Director of Education, acted as the internal sponsor body and provided strategic direction to the project. Its membership included representation at a senior level from relevant areas of the Council as follows:
• Director of Education (Chair);
• Head of Support Services (Education);
• Head of Corporate Finance (Finance);
• PPP Project Manager (Education);
• Personnel and Management Services Manager (Corporate Services);
• Head Teacher Representatives (Education);
• Head of Property Management (City Development);
• Head of Architectural Services (Corporate Services); and
• Head of Support Services (Social Work).
4.7.3 A Project Team composed of Council officers reported to this Project Board and took responsibility for the day to day management activities. The membership of the Project Team consisted of:
• PPP Project Manager (Education) (Chair);
• PPP Project Development Manager (Education);
• PPP Head Teacher Liaison Officer (Education);
• Strategic Structure Planning Manager (Education);
• Finance Manager Education Department (Education);
• Principal Accountant (Finance);
• Principal Solicitor (Corporate Services); and
• External Advisers
4.7.4 Legal, financial and technical External Advisers were appointed to support the Council officers and augment in-house expertise in these areas. They reported through the Project Manager to the Project Board. They included:
• Turner and Townsend Project Management (Lead Adviser);
• Turner and Townsend Project management (Technical);
• Dundas and Wilson (Legal); and
• Arthur Andersen (Financial).
4.7.5 There was a significant change in the structure and resourcing of the client team representing the City of Edinburgh Council in their dealings with ESP immediately following financial close of the PPP1 deal in November 2001 and in the period thereafter.
4.7.6 The stages after financial close included user client liaison and consultation; detailed design development; assessment and approval of all reviewable data including design and content changes; cost management of variations; and the subsequent construction, equipping, commissioning, certification and occupation of the schools.
4.7.7 At its largest, post-financial close, the City of Edinburgh Council team allocated to the project on a full-time basis consisted of four members of the staff of the Council. The Project Manager who had acted for the Council up to financial close remained in post for a short time thereafter before leaving for another position.
4.7.8 On the departure of the Project Manager, the person who took over as the main interface with ESP was the Council officer who up to then had reported to the previous Project Manager as the senior adviser on facilities management issues associated with PPP1.
4.7.9 After some six months, an administrative assistant was appointed to support the acting Project Manager/facilities management adviser who until then had become effectively the only full-time member of the Project Team.
4.7.10 At the same time as the appointment of the administrative assistant, another officer of the Council was appointed to act as the main interface with ESP in relation to the design and construction of the school buildings, with the acting Project Manager retaining responsibility for facilities management issues. This new appointment was given the slightly misleading title of Construction Project Manager, a term more appropriately used to describe an executive role in a construction company.
4.7.11 The 'Construction Project Manager' was subsequently supported by the appointment of a Quantity Surveyor to the PPP1 Project Team making a full complement of four staff allocated by the Council to the oversight of the implementation of these post-contract stages of the PPP1 project.
4.7.12 Additionally, this small team had access to the support of other staff, including professional/technical staff, working in the Council, who had been returned to their normal full-time duties after contract signing had been achieved.