- Glossary
Glossary
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Affordability Gap
The difference between total estimated cashflow requirements for building and managing the BSF project and the total available funding for schools covered under the BSF programme. The estimated cashflow requirements would include:
- Annual Unitary Payments on PFI projects
- Capital costs and annual operating and maintenance costs on conventional and ICT projects; and
- Operating and running expenses of the LEP
The total available funding would include:
- the annual value of the PFI credits contributed to the project by central government
- capital grants through Supported Borrowing towards conventional and ICT projects; and
- the annual contribution from school budgets to the cost of the BSF programme
ASB
Accounting Standards Board
AMP (Asset Management Plan)
The Local Authority's capital investment strategy for its school estate (or indeed all council buildings) which provides an assessment of building condition, the suitability for purpose, and sufficiency.
BAFO (Best and Final Offer)
A formal stage of requesting bidders to document their bidding position in a manner which is capable of being formally compared with other bids, and leading to the award of a contract with one bidder.
Bidder
A candidate, consortium, contractor, private sector partner, SPV or tenderer bidding for the project.
BSF (Building Schools for the Future)
The initiative to transform England's secondary schools to lift educational attainment
BVPI
Best Value Performance Indicator
Candidate(s)
The parties who formally respond to the OJEU Contract Notice and request to participate in the procurement exercise; normally this is conditional upon the return of a completed PQQ.
Collaboration
The various ways in which councils and other public bodies come together to combine their buying power, to procure or commission goods, works or services jointly or to create shared services. Collaboration is a form of public/public partnership. Its major benefits are economies of scale, accelerated learning and making use of scarce resources. The Local Strategic Partnership is a forum that can be used to promote collaboration at the local level and be a means through which procurement can help to deliver the community plan.
Commercial Close
At Commercial Close, both the Bidder and the Authority will have reached agreement on all the contractual documents, in addition to all relevant technical issues. All other matters affecting the Unitary Charge having been agreed, the only remaining issue is for the Bidder to fix the interest rate incurred on the bank debt taken out to finance the project. This is known as Financial Close.
At Commercial close the legal agreements may be signed by the parties and then held until Financial Close.
CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment)
A national body promoting good design of buildings and spaces. Advisory body to the BSF programme in design issues funded by DfES to support LEAs with design enablers, providing 10 days of free time allocated to each authority project, previously to the schools PFI programme, and now to BSF authorities.
CD (Competitive Dialogue) procedure
A formal procedure of dialogue between an authority and the bidders with the aim of developing a suitable technical or legal position against which all the bidders can submit a formal bid - expressly recognised as a new award procedure in the proposed new Consolidated Public Sector Directive (not yet in force). This will be a new procedure and sits alongside with negotiated, open and restricted procurement.
Competitive Negotiated Procedure
An EC award procedure which commences with OJEU advertisement; normally conducted for services under regulation 10(2)(b) or 10(2)(c) of SI 3228 1993.
CPA (Comprehensive performance assessment)
the system for categorising the performance of English Local Authorities. Contract Award Notice The formal notice send to OJEU (formerly OJEC) to record that a contract which was procured under the EC regime has been awarded.
Contract
The Contract or Project Agreement between the parties for the provision of the contracted service
CO (Contact Officer - DfES)
Each local authority will be allocated a BSF contact officer at the DfES, who will work closely with their project team and provide access to policy advisors at the DfES. The contact officer will also manage the various project approvals for the DfES, including representing projects at the Project Review Group, if necessary.
Contract Notice
The formal OJEU notice which sets out the scope of the project and invites parties to express an interest and become candidates for selection.
Conventional capital
Non PFI related capital grant or borrowing approval. See definitions for Supported Capital Expenditure (SCE).
Derogation
An exception to rules under a piece of European legislation.
Descriptive Document
the Descriptive Document, Information Pack, or Information Memorandum issued to Bidders expressing an interest in the project in response to the OJEU Notice.
DBFO (Design, Build, Finance & Operate)
A form of contract in which a consortium takes responsibility for the design, construction, financing and operation (including maintenance) of an asset for a period of years.
DBOM (Design, Build, Operate & Maintain)
A form of contract in which a consortium takes responsibility for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of an asset for a period of years, but does not finance its creation.
DCLG
Department for Communities and Local Government
Directive
An instruction to national governments from the EC, to create harmonising legislation on a specific subject area within a stated time period; a blue-print for new legislation.
DSO
Direct Service Organisation (or Direct Labour Organisation)
EV (Educational Vision)
The first major piece of work requiring to be done as a BSF authority. Included within the Strategic Business Case, illustrating how the local authority will achieve transformation of their secondary school estate in order to improve educational standards.
Exemplar Designs
DfES has produced a "compendium" of exemplar designs for new secondary schools. These schemes are the result of a design competition held during 2003, which resulted in five teams being chosen to produce model schemes for different types of site. A sixth design is for an "all-through" school combining secondary and primary. (There are also five primary school exemplars, although these are not expected to be widely used for the BSF programme).
FBC (Final Business Case)
The document submitted for approval to fund the project, which is required before Commercial and Financial Close of the contract.
Financial Close
See definition of Commercial Close.
FRS5
Financial Reporting Standard 5 - Reporting the Substance of Transactions
Gateway Review
A Gateway is a review of a procurement project carried out at key decision points by a team of experienced people who are independent of the project team. The Gateway Review process provides assurance to the Project Owner that their project can progress successfully to the next stage. Gateways have been designed to support projects that procure services, construction/property projects and ITenabled business change projects. The Gateway Review process in Local Government is managed by Local Partnerships, the local government project procurement expert (publishers of this guide).
Heads of Terms
A legal document which summarises key contractual conditions but does not amount to a contract in its own right.
Incremental Partnership
Incremental partnerships involve working with a strategic partner or partners to cover a range of core activities but without the requirements of a comprehensive all-inclusive commitment for the long-term. Instead, it allows the local authority to build up confidence with a supplier partner to work with them to develop a stage-by-stage approach to process re-engineering their activities.
ITN (Invitation to Negotiate)
The ITN document is issued to short-listed bidders, and provides the following:
- Instructions and guidance on the process to be followed, timetable, requirements for bids and bid evaluation criteria
- Details of the services required as stated in the Output Specification
- Proposed contractual terms governing the arrangement (inc. contract length and payment mechanism)
- Extent to which bidders are able to submit variant bids
ISDS
Invitation to Submit Detailed Solutions
ISOP(S) (Invitation to Submit Outline Proposal(s)):
A formal request to submit technical solutions which may be of interest to the authority.
ISOS
Invitation to Submit Outline Solutions
ISRS
Invitation to Submit Refined Solutions
JVC (Joint Venture Company):
A legal entity commonly structured as a company limited by shares and used for the delivery of the partnership services or works.
Key Stage Review
Part of the governance process. These reviews are designed to ensure examination and scrutiny of the project at critical stages of its life cycle to provide assurance that it can progress to the next stage, similar to a Gateway Review.
Local Authority
Any City Council, County Council, Borough Council, Unitary Authority or County Borough Council
Local Partnerships
Local Partnerships is a joint venture between the Local Government Association and Partnerships UK, incorporating 4ps and all its current services. Local Partnerships’ mission is to enhance the quality of people’s lives by giving trusted, professional support to local public bodies to improve their ability to source and deliver high quality, cost-effective public services and infrastructure. Local Partnerships will work at a local level and ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ with public bodies to develop and deliver innovative solutions to new and emerging problems. This will be done by working alongside local public bodies to improve their sourcing and commissioning skills, programme and project management capabilities, procurement, negotiating and contract management capacity, and their delivery, funding and partnering abilities.
LEP (Local Education Partnership)
The joint venture company for local delivery of the BSF programme, formed by a local authority, Partnerships for Schools (PfS) and a Private Sector Partner (PSP).
LPI
Local Performance Indicator
Method Statement
Any method statement or service delivery plan submitted by a Bidder detailing how an aspect of the service will be delivered
OBC (Outline Business Case)
Business Case which sets out in detail the scope, costs, affordability, risks, procurement route and timetable of the project such that it can be approved by the Authority to the satisfaction of DfES and the Project Review Group, and for advancing to the procurement stages of the project. The OBC is written to a prescribed template provided by PfS.
OGC
Office of Government Commerce
OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union)
The publication in which contract notices appear, to which interested suppliers respond - previously the Official Journal of the European Community (OJEC). OJEU is commonly used as an abbreviation of the official notice which appears in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the EU.
Output Specification
A detailed description of the functions that the new accommodation must be capable of performing. Usually split into building functions and service functions. The Output Specification is intended to state only the outputs required of the services, and not the way in which the PSP will achieve these.
Partnering
This is an umbrella term that covers all of the associated behaviours and techniques, arrangements and agreements that incorporate a partnering ethos and can take the form of a partnering arrangement, partnering agreement or a legal partnership
PFI (Private Finance Initiative)
A procurement route established in 1995, and more widely adopted since 1997. It is an important route for much Government spending on assets, as it transfers significant risks to the private sector. PFI requires private sector consortia to raise private finance to fund the project, which must involve investment in assets, and the long-term delivery of services to the public sector. In BSF, PFI is one of several possible procurement routes being funded.
PFI Credit
PFI Credits represent a commitment on the part of the government to provide a certain level of revenue support to a local authority, under the Local Government (Capital Finance) Regulations 1997. The government reimburses a contribution to the local authority (which contracts with the private sector to provide facilities) for that element of the contract price that relates to the repayment and servicing of funds borrowed to provide the facilities. The revenue support acts as a contribution to the unitary charge that the local authority will be contractually committed to paying to its PFI contractor.
PfS (Partnerships for Schools)
The non-departmental public body (NDPB) set up to deliver BSF nationally, jointly managed by the DfES and Partnerships UK.
PUK (Partnerships UK)
Partnerships UK was established by Government to accelerate the development, procurement and implementation of public private partnerships (PPPs). PUK works exclusively with and for the public sector. It is 49% owned by the Treasury. See http://www.partnershipsuk.org.uk for further info.
(BSF) Pathfinder project
Four projects selected in March 2003 to help shape and prove the BSF programme and which are currently progressing through the project stages. The Pathfinder projects should remain slightly ahead of the main Wave 1 projects and will provide valuable information on the processes.
PIN (Prior Information Notice)
A formal alerting notice placed in the OJEU before the Contract Notice.
PQQ (Pre-Qualification Questionnaire)
The authority drafted document which invites candidates to express an interest by supplying evidence which can lead to their selection as bidders.
Preferred Bidder
The bidder which submits the best negotiating position in response to the ITN.
PITN (Preliminary Invitation to Negotiate - also referred to as the Invitation to Submit Outline Proposals ISOP)
Issued at the same time as the PQQ in the procurement process, providing more detailed information about the bidder and its approach to partnering. The PITN is used after the PQQ process in the bidder shortlisting process and only looked at if the bidder satisfies the PQQ criteria.
PQQ (Pre-Qualification Questionnaire)
Bidders expressing an interest in the project advertised in the OJEU are issued with a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire which will obtain information as to whether potential bidders have the technical capacity and ability, economic and financial standing to deliver the project.
Procurement Regulations
The statutes, regulations and legislative requirements concerning the procurement of public works, supplies or services
PSP (Private Sector Partner)
The private sector organisation with which a local authority enters into a PPP or PFI contract. In BSF, the PSP will have the majority stake within the LEP, and may also be in direct contract with the authority through PFI contracts.
PID (Project Initiation Document)
Defines the BSF project in order to form the basis for the management and assessment of the success of the project. It provides a framework for the Project Board and the Project Manager to assess progress, change management and ongoing viability.
PRG (Project Review Group)
The PRG is an inter-departmental group chaired by HM Treasury (HMT), with members drawn from the sponsoring government departments (ODPM, DCMS, DfES, etc). Local Partnerships attends its meetings and contributes to discussions on projects in which it has been involved. PRG assesses PFI projects to confirm the commercial viability of proposals, prior to commencing procurement. The PRG will assess all projects in BSF with a PFI element.
PD (Project Directors)
The PfS staff who advise the local authority project team, and lead them through the standardised BSF process.
PO (Project Owner)
The senior officer or Member who is accountable, in governance terms, for the successful outcome of the project: sometimes termed the Project Sponsor. The Project Owner may be a group of "project sponsors" who collectively "own" the project.
PPP (Public Private Partnerships)
The relationship formed between the private sector and public bodies often with the aim of introducing private sector resources and/or expertise in order to help provide and deliver public-sector assets and services. The concept of PPP embraces many forms of partnership including PFI.
Project Scoping
The process of determining the precise scope or envelope of the project before the OJEU Contract Notice is issued. Prudential Code The CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance, being the Financial code which authorities must have regard to when setting and reviewing their affordable borrowing limits.
SOC (School Organisation Committee)
The SOC considers and approves the annual School Organisation Plan for the LEA area and considers individual statutory proposals for changes to schools (e.g. new schools, school closures, enlargements and additions of nurseries and sixth forms). Proposals have to be agreed unanimously by the Committee; if not they must pass the proposals to the independent schools adjudicator. There are up to six interest groups on a School Organisation Committee. Each group must have one and not more than seven members. Each group has one vote no matter how many members it contains.
SOP (School Organisation Plan)
Each Local Authority is required under statute to produce a plan covering at least 5 academic years from the time of writing, broadly setting out how the authority will meet its statutory responsibilities to provide sufficient educational provision within its area.
Service Provider
The concessionaire, consortium, contractor, private sector partner or SPV appointed to deliver the contracted services
SHA (Shareholders Agreement)
The agreement between the co-shareholders in the LEP (the Local Authority, Partnerships for Schools (PfS) and the Private Sector Partner (PSP) which provides the basis for joint working within the Local Education Partnership (LEP), including their individual rights and obligations.
SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle)
The company that will be established by the LEP to operate and manage individual tranches of the BSF project. Its sole purpose will be the delivery of the tranche. It will deliver the services using either PFI or traditional funding.
SPA (Strategic Partnership Agreement)
The contractual agreement between the Local Authority and the Local Education Partnership (LEP) which sets out the details of the partnership working between them and defines key terms such as exclusivity and the new project approval process.
SoPC (Standardisation of PFI Contracts)
Guidance documentation and approved drafting produced by PUK on behalf of HM Treasury, which sets out national standards for PFI contracts. The third edition (SoPC3) was updated in April 2004 and is binding on all PFI funded projects.
SBC (Strategic Business Case)
The SBC demonstrates the linkages between the authority's corporate and educational vision, incorporating its strategic estate planning. It is the first major document to be submitted for approval in the BSF process, prior to Outline Business Case.
SCE(C) (Supported Capital Expenditure (Capital))
This refers to capital grant usually paid by DfES to local authorities through the standards fund.
SCE(R) (Supported Capital Expenditure (Revenue))
This refers to support to local authorities for borrowing for capital purposes, paid through a revenue stream by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Technical Dialogue
A formal process of dialogue to assist in Project Scoping, undertaken by the authority and potential candidates in the period after issuing the PIN but before issuing the Contract Notice.
TUPE
Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981
Unitary Charge
The payment made by the local authority to the Service Provider for the provision of the contracted service.
Wave
A group of BSF projects in a number of authorities with funding starting in a particular financial year.
Wave 2 and Wave 3 projects
Projects that have been granted approval in principle for funding within Wave 2 (contract signature 2006/07, or Wave 3 (contract signature 2007/08), which then progress through the project stages described in guidance documentation
Workforce Issues
Issues relating to the terms and conditions of a workforce, for example remuneration and pension issues.
