Administration

2.57  The costs of management time for Pilot PPP Schools in comparison to the Conventional Schools was considered as an element of the Financial Analysis; however, as the DoE and the NDFA are managing many schools and other projects it was not possible to isolate these costs. The direct cost of managing the Pilot PPP Schools Bundle (SPV management fee) is paid by the DoE within the UC, but there is a variety of other resources required to fully oversee the contracts. Whilst the contract is self-monitoring, in that the FM Contractor and Project Company report on availability or performance deductions, a resource is required from the NDFA for ongoing contract management during the operational stage; the DoE engages with the NDFA on this contract management, makes the Unitary Charge payments and is involved in other delivery aspects such as minor works requests.

2.58  NDFA resource includes staff engaged across a wide range of financial advisory, procurement, project delivery and contract management services for PPP projects across Ireland. It was not possible to isolate the specific resource levels allocated to the Pilot PPP Schools Bundle.

2.59  The DoE reports a significantly higher level of resource per school within the Department is required to manage the Pilot PPP Schools Bundle. This is primarily since a contractual relationship remains in place with the PPP Company beyond the construction phase and up to the end of the 25-year operational phase. Due to the nature of this contract, substantial engagement is required between the various stakeholders to manage its various complexities

2.60  The responsibility for the day-to-day running and management of a Conventional School is a matter for the Board of Management of the individual school. In the case of ETB schools, the School's Principal would be supported by their respective ETB. DoE administrative costs associated with the Conventional Schools are difficult to ascertain as they cross over several sections depending on the scheme a school is making an application under i.e., Capital Appraisal Section Forward Planning, Property Management, Devolved Grants Section (i.e., re Emergency Works, Summer Works) and Professional and Technical Section.

2.61  During the Principal interviews for both comparator groups, AAP asked each Principal what percentage of their time was spent on building/maintenance management (Figures 2.18 and 2.19). There was clear demarcation between the Pilot PPP Schools Bundle and the Conventional Schools, with the Pilot PPP Schools reporting little to no admin time (<5%) spent on maintaining the facilities, in contrast to the Conventional Schools spending a fair to moderate amount of time (>10%). For the Conventional Schools, there are also significant peaks and troughs in the administrative burden, rising from a base of 10% to 25-50%. Higher levels of administrative burden were typically related to increased levels of works at the schools, extensions, or other maintenance requirements. Two of the five Pilot PPP Schools noted that a low requirement for administrative time has not always been the case, with intervention needed in previous years to ensure accountability and contract compliance.

Figure 2.18 - Principal Time Spent on Facilities Management

Figure 2.19 - Principal Time Spent on Facilities Management - reported by nr of schools