Recommendation 10

The IPA recognised that more support was needed to address the “huge demand” for expertise, skills and capability in contract management—all of which were currently insufficient. It explained that contracts owned by local bodies, which made up more than 80% of all PFI contracts, were “the most concerning area” as local bodies’ investment in contract management expertise had “not always kept pace with the extent required”.25 Local Partnerships added that the best prepared authorities were those with multiple PFI contracts, as they were more likely to have maintained a PFI team during the life of the project.26 The NAO found that 182 authorities owned just one PFI contract.27