13. When discussing behaviours in the PFI market, public sector consultees offered a different perspective to private sector consultees. In the context of those projects where relationships are poor, they gave examples of behaviours on the private sector side that countered some of the behavioural issues raised by private sector consultees. Examples included:
(a) Failing to resolve issues logged on the helpdesk for months and, sometimes, years;
(b) Deliberately withholding critical health & safety information from the relevant Public Authority;
(c) Self-reporting in a "self-serving" manner, with a long history of no, or minimal, Deductions
being included in any monthly performance report, despite under performance;
(d) Withholding survey results until all of the survey was complete, even though completed parts could have been made available for release;
(e) Denying access to the public sector to carry out its own surveys; and
(f) Significant prevarication and delay in resolving issues.
In response to the suggestion that the private sector believes the public sector often exercises its contractual rights in an overly aggressive fashion, the typical response from public sector consultees was that this approach was usually only employed after a long period of trying other, less confrontational, approaches. All public sector consultees commented on how, once they employed this approach, they typically experienced a positive step change in the responsiveness of the private sector. The prevailing view of public sector consultees was that "playing hardball" is typically the only way to get the private sector to the table to properly resolve issues.