On 3 September water companies in England and Wales submitted
their business plans to regulator, Ofwat who are now in an intense
period of assessing and ranking those
plans. For the first time, Ofwat is challenging companies in
England and Wales to think differently about how they procure major
infrastructure.
Some of the issues facing companies in stepping up to the Ofwat
challenge have been experienced first hand in Scotland. Lessons can
be learned from those early projects, helping to ensure that
Ofwat's proposals for direct procurement in England and Wales
deliver successfully for customers.
Looking beyond the "hard" issues usually addressed in
contract drafting, there is real scope for bringing new ideas to
concepts of contract change, contract management and dispute
prevention.