The UK’s Infrastructure & Projects Authority (IPA) has appointed two industry experts to develop an independent report on the status of behaviours, relationships and disputes in PFI contracts.
Former Scottish Futures Trust chief executive, Barry White, and former global head of project finance at Ashurst, Andrew Fraiser, have been tasked with developing the report, which will also recommend practical solutions to improve relationships in PFI deals.
The review will also consider recent industry proposals put forward by law firm DLA Piper for a ‘conduct charter’ and an ‘expiry and handback resolution council’. To read more about these proposals, click here.
“The extent to which negative working practices are being adopted, and the reasons why, will also be considered as part of the review,” the IPA said.
“By commissioning an independent report, the IPA hopes to receive recommendations regarding how system wide solutions can be found to address any issues,” said finance director at the IPA, Matthew Vickerstaff.
“This independent perspective is essential to the IPA having a clear understanding of negative behaviours and why they exist - this will help us to more effectively deal with the challenges at hand.”
Negative working practices, disputes and broken relationships within PFI contracts are becoming increasingly common, leading to a number of challenges for those working in the industry. Partnerships Bulletin has looked at these issues in a series of reports, which can be accessed below.