I agree, as long as there is no implicit guarantee from the council it shouldn't be a problem. Most councils and the EA know who the local and national consultants out there are and generally have some idea of how good they are on a given topic. However, that latter sort of information/judgement should never be given as it can (and to my certain knowledge has) lead to problems further down the line. Some people in the past have advised clients to check out the internet and given clients a few key words, is this why Atkins gets so much work ?
But to answer the other question, anyone can be a consultant and get into ENDS, all you have to do is prove you have PI and fill out the on-line questionnaire. Indeed if memory serves you do not even need to prove the PI as I think that is one of the on-line questions now and all you answer is yes and how much. The notes and disclaimers in the directory are very clear on the fact that effectively all they are doing is providing a place to put and store the information you provide for others to access. This is not to put ENDS down, as a resource to find other specialists it is invaluable, but if someone had a mind to, they could easily over-egg their competence.
I know of at least one entry a couple of years ago where someone ticked many more "area of work" boxes simply on the basis that if it was out of their fields they could then use ENDS to find someone who could actually do it and thereby charge a fee to project manage it on top. This is not to say this is wrong, sometimes having a manager of a project is very worthwhile to keep things running smoothly, but anyone managing something should at least know something about what they are managing. So my advice to anyone suggesting ENDS or indeed any similar resource as somewhere to look for consultants would be never choose just one and always talk to someone competent in each company to see if they do actually understand what is required.
Chris Swainston
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