Annex 1
DRINKING WATER INSPECTORATE
Specification: Consultancy: Feedback from
Water Companies on DWI Performance
OBJECTIVE
1. The objective of this consultancy is
to carry out a survey of appropriate contacts in water companies
to obtain feedback from companies on the performance of the Inspectorate.
BACKGROUND
2. For several years the Inspectorate has
had in place a Code for Enforcement which sets out the levels
of service that water companies, members of the public and other
organisations can expect to receive from the Inspectorate. The
latest edition of the Code, which reflects recent changes to the
Inspectorate's way of working, was published in October 2000.
3. Until the beginning of 1998 the Inspectorate
had been organised into five Inspection Teams. Each Team had an
allocation of about six water companies and the teams dealt with
all matters relating to their companies including inspections,
audits, assessment of compliance, enforcement, incident, investigations,
prosecutions and consumer complaints. For several years, including
1997, the Inspectorate has asked companies to fill in a questionnaire
about the Inspectorate's performance, which concentrated mainly
on the Inspection process and included a limited number of other
aspects of the Inspectorate's work.
4. On 1 January 1998 the regulatory side
of the Inspectorate was reorganised into two basic groups, one
dealing with Inspection, audit and enforcement and liaison with
Ofwat (I + E branch) and the other dealing with investigation
of incidents and consumer complaints and prosecutions (I + C branch).
There is also a liaison inspector appointed for each company.
5. With this new organisation the Inspectorate
has reviewed the way in which it needs to obtain feedback from
companies. It has decided that the existing questionnaire is no
longer appropriate because it concentrates on only part of the
Inspectorate's activities and is too detailed and that some companies
were completing the questionnaire mechanically without carrying
out a proper assessment of the Inspectorate's performance.
DESCRIPTION OF
REQUIREMENTS
6. A consultant is required to carry out
a survey of appropriate contacts in water companies to obtain
feedback from each company (excluding Cholderton) on the performance
of the Inspectorate in the light of its new organisation. The
Inspectorate needs a measure of the performance of individual
sections within its branches, where appropriate on a scale, and
where not, for example meeting Code for Enforcement (C + E) targets,
a simple yes/no.
7. As a minimum the Inspectorate needs feedback
on:
Inspection
General arrangements and conduct of inspection
and audits
Appropriateness of conclusions/recommendations
Level of professional knowledge/expertise
Met CfE targets (draft report—four weeks,
final report—four weeks, consolidated report by 1 March
1999)
Enforcement
Accuracy of compliance assessment
Appropriateness of conclusions on enforcement
Level of professional knowledge/expertise (compliance/undertakings—four
weeks)
Distribution
General arrangements and conduct of inspections
and audits on distribution systems
Appropriateness of conclusions/recommendations
Level of professional knowledge/expertise
Met CfE targets (draft report—four weeks,
final report—four weeks, consolidated report by 1 March
1999
AMP3
Advice on requirements and handling of Company
submissions
Appropriateness of decisions
Level of professional knowledge/expertise
Met DWI/Ofwat timetable (decision by 26 February
1999)
Incidents and Complaints Branch
Incidents
General arrangements, conduct and thoroughness
of incident investigations
Appropriateness of conclusions and recommendations
Level of professional knowledge/expertise
Met CfE targets (signed off within three months
except prosecutions)
Liaison
Conduct of liaison inspector functions
Level of professional knowledge/expertise
Value to the company
8. When a company is critical of an aspect
of the Inspectorate's performance the consultant should obtain
constructive ideas on how performance could be improved.
9. The consultant may be required to visit
one or two water companies to trial and perfect the approach but
it is expected that most companies will be surveyed by telephone.
10. The consultant will be required to produce
a written report.
Programme of Work
11. The consultant will be required to liaise
with the contract manager and carry out the tasks, including reporting,
as outlined above. The consultant may, if judged necessary, be
required to attend a liaison meeting with the Contract Manager
at the Inspectorate's Offices.
12. The contract will start early in 1999
and finish by 31 March 1999.
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