2.4.23 It might be appropriate to introduce a 'ratchet' mechanism to allow penalties for unavailability or poor performance to increase if the provider consistently provides the service below the agreed standard, or if a specific failure is not rectified. A simple ratchet mechanism will work by increasing the number of penalty points awarded for a particular failure that recurs too often with a specified period. For example, if x points are awarded for a failure to achieve a particular output, then (x+3) points may be awarded for each failure above a specified maximum number of failures in a pre-defined period.