Thames Tideway Tunnel - Defra Technical Advisor

To monitor the project and protect the Secretary of State’s interest in the project especially in relation to the GSP, the Authority employs five advisers: lawyers, financial experts, technical advisers (DTA), loss adjusters and insurers. HMT and the Nista are actively involved in the oversight of the project and it is key we retain high quality external advice.

The purpose of the Authority role is to provide Government with expertise from an engineering, major construction project and commissioning perspective in order to protect Government’s interests in the TTT project, specifically by:

analysing and interpreting information and data on project progress;

Identifying risks and issues relevant to Government, including construction/commissioning delays and issues that could lead to claims under the GSP; and advising Defra on steps that should be taken to better understand and mitigate risks.

For the purposes of this role, Government’s interests in the project can be summarised as:

to achieve compliance with environmental objectives and with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive in respect of the tidal river Thames as soon as possible in order to minimise the risk of fines;

to achieve value for money for customers and taxpayers; and

To avoid calls on contingent Government support where possible, and where calls are made, to manage these effectively and efficiently.

The DTA will work closely and report to the TTT team within Defra, managed and led by a Deputy Director. The team and the DTA will also be working closely with the other external advisers (financial, legal, insurance and loss adjusters) who will continue to have a key role in analysing information and supplying advice, as needed. The DTA will need to work closely with these external advisers, particularly on financial advice relating to construction costs, but is not expected to provide specific financial expertise.

The specific tasks expected of the DTA are set out in more detail below.