There are about 70 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in total contained in the PPP contract, including the secondary indicators, and while they are generally monitored by the Project Company and the operations contractor, the Procuring Authority performs a certain level of monitoring as well. The Project Company is currently meeting the KPIs consistently, and any payment deductions are minor. However, a small number of the KPIs are causing some tension, due to the Project Company viewing them as "draconian" and unachievable and the Procuring Authority seeing them as a continuing incentive for performance. This small number of KPIs have relatively low payment deductions and the Project Company's view is that they don't incentivise performance.

The KPIs for the project were set at the signing of the PPP contract, over 10 years before the writing of this case study, when the focus was on diverting waste from landfill. The Project Company was given the autonomy to achieve this however it saw fit, for example through incineration of waste. However, current government policy is now more focused on recycling and meeting recycling targets related to the circular economy. The KPIs therefore do not correspond well with the current goals of the Procuring Authority, as the Project Company is able to meet the KPIs without necessarily increasing the percentage of waste that is recycled. The KPIs are considered as "of their time".

To help address issues which are not fully covered by the current PPP contract, the Procuring Authority introduced a parallel process with an informal audit, reported back to the joint board, represented by Project Company and Procuring Authority members. The audit covers aspects which the Procuring Authority consider to be important, but are not covered properly by the KPIs. These are often more subjective indices, and hence may be better suited to an informal process.

The audit is shared publicly on the Reading Borough, Bracknell Forest, and Wokingham District Councils' websites, however it is not advertised widely, as it does not exist to apportion blame or criticise the Project Company. Rather, it is published online to ensure that, should the performance with regards to these metrics drop, other councils and local authorities would be able to refer to it and proactively manage their own contracts, either with the same private partner or with others. The Procuring Authority is pleased with this process and did confirm that it was extremely helpful in addressing issues not monitored by the KPIs. The Project Company sees the audit as comprehensive and has no issues with the way in which it is currently implemented. However, this audit is not expected to last indefinitely, as it is not a requirement under the PPP contract and circumstances may change.