Prison-Building in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Prison-Building in the UK - Essay Example How a job is going to be attained is an issue that relates mainly to procurement. There are three different main routes of procurement which one could follow. The first option is perhaps the most obvious, PFI (private finance initiative) procurement, is classic and actually quite attractive. For the purposes of this project, PFI will not be used. However it is helpful to know what it is exactly. Private finance initiatives are usually used when the public sector arranges to buy services, with very empirically-based outcomes from the private sector. This is ongoing for a long time, which includes the maintenance and/or construction of the appropriate designs so that management by the private sector is maximized by the private finance being at a high risk. Next, which is not as innately apparent, is prime contracting. In this instance, a sole contractor is in the place of being the point man for a client in the public realm to produce deliverable goods-such as a completed construction project with budgetary constraints. The next and final procurement option is design and build, wherein one contractor, also indebted to a client in the public realm, has a single outcome specified. Unlike the prime contracting model, there is no pre-agreed cost data. Basically, the fact that these prisons are not being built with private finance initiative procurement is problematic. First, the fact that the money being spent would be taken from private funding would ensure that the public was not being swindled. Secondly, if something went wrong with the project, the money being spent would not be public monies. In fact, the fact that the monies that will be spent are public monies is highly problematic. How then does the prison industry make sure that it is being faithful to its intended purpose (housing prisoners). Someone, if this is public funds being used, must be kept accountable in terms of how the public's money or tax dollars are being spent. Private finance initiative pro curement monies would be safer to use because if the money is not utilized properly, the private sector could more easily sue for damages. However, since the money is the public's money, the public does not necessarily have a representative in place to represent their interests, needs, and wants with regard to how the project is coming along. In this way, there is much more potential for abuse when it comes to the public's money being spent on the prison programme. SECTION II. III. Question II In the opinion of Ramus, et. al. (2006), "After a client has selected an appropriate procurement strategy for his building project, the next stage will be a review of how best to obtain the resources that will be necessary for him to have the work carried out. In most instances, client organizations will have limited skills and resources" (pp. 68). There are four different types of contracts which could be utilized in this situation: a contract based on bills of