Laura Sharman 20 June 2018

MPs blast ‘unacceptable’ cost of PFI deals

A damning report has warned the Government is unable to prove that Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts offer value for money for the taxpayer.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has found the Treasury has no plans to assess the value for money of PFI and there is little evidence of sharing best practice. 

The report highlights examples of the unflexibility of PFI including the fact Liverpool City Council is paying £4m a year for a school that has been empty since 2014.

‘Much has changed in the past quarter-century but Government’s inability to answer basic questions about PFI remains undimmed,’ said Committee chair, Meg Hillier.

‘It beggars belief that such apparently institutionalised fuzzy thinking over such large sums of public money should have prevailed for so long.

‘The Treasury simply cannot support its assertion that PFI represents good value for money. Yet while Government is now seeking to collate the PFI data that does exist, it does not intend to publish the results of this work. This is unacceptable. Government must level with taxpayers about the value of PFI.’

The report added the government’s reform of PFI has been fairly limited, with only a handful of PF2 projects in the pipeline.

PAC added it had realised concerns as far back as 2011 and it is ‘disappointed; that so little progress has been made.

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Principal Transport Planner (Strategy)

North Northamptonshire Council
£46,731-£49,764
We are looking for an experienced professional to join North Northamptonshire Council as a Principal Transport Planner (Strategy). Sheerness House, 41 Meadow Road, Kettering moving to Haylock House, Kettering Parkway, Kettering NN15 6EY, United Kingdom
Recuriter: North Northamptonshire Council

Highways Capital Delivery Manager

South Wales Trunk Road Agent
£50,788 - £52,805
To be responsible for the implementation of Welsh Government’s Renewal and Upgrade programme. Baglan, Port Talbot
Recuriter: South Wales Trunk Road Agent

Senior Engineer x 2

Hounslow London Borough Council
£47,532 –£55,620 per annum
Our people are deeply committed to providing excellent services to our residents, doing all we can to make lives as good as they can be. Hounslow (City/Town), London (Greater)
Recuriter: Hounslow London Borough Council

Part Time Prison Library Assistant - HMP/YOI Chelmsford

Essex County Council
£25081.00 - £27653.00 per annum + Pro Rata
Part Time Prison Library Assistant - HMP/YOI ChelmsfordFixed Term, Part Time£25,081 to £27,653 Per Annum, Full Time EquivalentLocation
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Head of SEN Assessment & Resolution

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council
£77136 - £88230 per annum
Shape a fairer future for children with special educational needs.As Head of SEN Assessment and Resolution at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chel England, London
Recuriter: The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council
Linkedin Banner