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Managing PFI/PPP Projects During Challenging Economic Times

30 June 2010

With public sector spending set to be severely curtailed now that the General Election is over, Managing PFI/PPP Projects During Challenging Economic Times has been organised to offer delegates an early opportunity to assess how the new Government's austerity measures will affect them and their counter parties in the private or public sectors in relation to the operation of their existing PFI/PPP projects. It will examine how operational PFI/PPP projects can be most effectively managed to extract improved value for money and how contracts can be redesigned to operate more flexibly or renegotiated in order to make them more affordable in the present economic environment. Finally, the event will examine what tactics can be used to effectively deal with contractor and sub-contractor failure via hands on case studies, including an analysis of rail maintenance firm Jarvis, which has recently gone into administration, and will end with a checklist on possible action points for government departments and local authorities.

Key Issues Addressed

Managing partnerships in a difficult economy
The wider lessons of the Metronet Tube PPP
An overview of contract management strategies
Lessons from the Inland Revenue's Steps PFI
Conducting an effective operational review
Lessons from Cornwall's £74m schools PFI
Benchmarking and market testing
How local flexibility has the potential to unlock costs in the lease structures of local improvement financial trust (LIFT) facilities
Scope for renegotiating specific terms under SoPC4
Lessons from Local Partnerships on operational projects
Which aspects of a transaction to renegotiate in order to improve affordability - service levels, maintenance, term and payment structure
A checklist of possible action points for government departments and local authorities

Featuring Two Case Studies

Lessons from the financial difficulties of Jarvis
Hackney Council's Secondary Schools Project

08:30 Coffee and registration

09:15 Chairman's opening remarks
Edward Yescombe, Director, YCL Consulting Ltd

OVERVIEW AND CONTEXT

09:20 Managing partnerships in a difficult economy
Ben Lucas, Director, Public Services Trust

EXTRACTING IMPROVED VALUE FOR MONEY THROUGH BETTER CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

09:50 An overview of contract management strategies
Duncan Weir, Construction and Engineering Partner, Bevan Brittan

10:20 Lessons from the Inland Revenue's Steps PFI
David Finlay, Director, NAO Private Finance Practice

10:40 Morning coffee

11:00 Conducting an effective operational review
Jerry Gould, Associate Partner, Corporate Finance (Government & Infrastructure),Deloitte LLP

11:20 Lessons from Cornwall's £74m schools PFI
Gareth Xifaras, Senior Manager, Forensics, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

11:40 Benchmarking and market testing
Philippa Toner, Senior Executive Manager, Public Private Partnerships Unit, Leeds City Council

12:00 How local flexibility has the potential to unlock costs in the lease structures of local improvement financial trust (LIFT) facilities
David Pokora, Executive Director, LIFT Council

RENEGOTIATING PFI CONTRACTS TO MAKE THEM MORE AFFORDABLE

12:20 Scope for renegotiating specific terms under SoPC4
Ian McPake, Partner, Tods Murray LLP

12:40 Lessons from Local Partnerships on operational projects
Andrew Macey, Sector & Project Director, Local Partnerships

13:00 Lunch

14:00 Panel discussion on which aspects of a transaction to renegotiate in order to improve affordability - service levels, maintenance, term and payment structure
Shona Henderson, Corporate Finance Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Michael Gerrard, Chief Executive, Partnerships UK
Louisa Cilenti, Partner, Nabarro LLP

DEALING WITH CONTRACTOR AND SUB-CONTRACTOR FAILURE

14:40 Contractor case study - Lessons from the financial difficulties of Jarvis
Phil Bowers, Partner, Reorganisation Services, Deloitte

15:00 Sub-contractor case study - Hackney Council's Secondary Schools Project

How the integrator model made it easier to handle the collapse of the original FM provider in this project

Andrew Newland, General Manager, Hackney Local Education Partnership, Mouchel Babcock

15:20 Closing panel - a checklist of possible action points for government departments and local authorities
Ian McPake, Partner, Tods Murray LLP
Philippa Toner, Senior Executive Manager, Public Private Partnerships Unit, Leeds City Council
Edward Yescombe, Director, YCL Consulting Ltd

16:00 Chairman's concluding remarks and close of conference