In many cases of procurement, T&E were involved at far too late a stage, this situation worsened with the creation of the ATEC/Qinetiq partnership as the IPTs now had to pay for this involvement. IPTLs would try to keep T&E away from the project leaving the manufacturer to pursue it's own course. In some cases the relationship between the IPT and manufacturer was too close and both saw T&E has a hindrance to the project.
Of course the costs incurred by the OEUs were just borne by the AWC budget and they were often involved at the design stage in a project. Unfortunately, with no training or exposure to other platforms the value afforded by the OEU input was somewhat variable.
Now that MOD T&E is part of the AWC, this particular aspect has potential to improve.