216.
I have expressed the view to the Director of Water Supplies that regular confidential reports by themselves are not an effective tool for managing the work of consultants. I have informed him that the Director of Engineering Development has very recently incorporated detailed guidance on the management of consultants in an amendment to the Civil Engineering Manual and has recently informed the Deputy Financial Secretary that further detailed guidance on the subject will be included in a completely revised version of the manual scheduled to be published in late 1985. I have pointed out to the Director of Water Supplies that the recent amendments to the Civil Engineering Manual can be traced to paragraph 6.54 of the Sixth Report of the Public Accounts Committee issued in December 1983 where the Committee recommended that measures should be taken to improve procedures for the management of the work of consultants. The Government accepted the Public Accounts Committee's recommendation. I have also pointed out to the Director of Water Supplies that in paragraph 6.46 of their Seventh Report issued in December 1984 the Public Accounts Committee noted that the evidence heard before them suggested a failure on the part of the consultants appointed as project managers for the Aberdeen and Airport Tunnel projects to perform their duties satisfactorily. The Committee went on to recommend that where consultants' duties included project management it was necessary for the Government departments concerned to exercise, in turn, adequate supervision of those consultants. The Government again accepted this recommendation and this resulted in the Director of Engineering Development's statement concerning the issue of further detailed guidance on the matter. I have also expressed the view to the Director of Water Supplies that, in the context of the growing awareness of the need to exercise more control over the work of consultants, his current procedures are not adequate for this purpose.
217.
In reply, the Director of Water Supplies has expressed the opinion that the guidance recently incorporated in the amendments to the Civil Engineering Manual is more of an administrative guideline than a detailed instruction of procedures for direct supervision and monitoring of the consultants' work and that most aspects covered by this guideline are being practised by his department. He has informed me that he is prepared to adopt the further detailed guidelines on the supervision of consultants when these have been prepared, wherever they are appropriate to his department. The Director has
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