14. Even where relationships are reasonable, we encountered a significant degree of frustration among Public Authorities, expressed to us in the following areas:
(a) Variations taking too long and not being addressed with any urgency;
(b) A feeling that SPVs favour resolving commercial issues with their supply chains before addressing the reported issue (referred to by some as "fight first, fix later"), meaning that even obvious faults are sometimes left unresolved for years;
(c) Goodwill being used as a bargaining chip, with the threat of withdrawal of goodwill being
used to discourage the Public Authority from exercising its contractual rights;
(d) Self-reporting, which should be a cornerstone of any PFI Contract, not always being as comprehensive as it should be; and
(e) Reassurance being offered on issues when a more rigorous approach to providing assurance is what is needed.