Ms Geraldine Tallon:

No, I would not say that either. We are talking about circumstances in which there are over 500 agglomerations under the urban wastewater directive. We have a relatively small number of PPPs within the overall number. They are plants of scale and complexity. Although I say we attract particular capacities and advantages for those DBOs, I do not suggest there is no capacity in the local government system. The DBO does offer advantages that were identified in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General. It has helped to accelerate the infrastructure provision. There is a single point of responsibility for the design, construction, operation and maintenance that creates circumstances in which a private operator does optimise the whole-life cost of the project.