What cost ‘pay later?’

STEVE Roman reminds us of the insidious creeping asset-stripping

and sale of our NHS (‘The private sector is taking over our NHS,’ M.E.N. Viewpoints, August 23).

We should all be up in arms about this – as he says, it’s our NHS.

We should, however, be no less indignant at our government which helps this sort of thing spread to many poorer countries through Healthcare UK, a partnership promoting private solutions globally, where many countries have not had a chance to build a NHS to look after their weak and aged.

Here the NHS pays more than £2bn a year to private companies for Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts when the money could have been raised far cheaper as government bonds.

This has been condemned by Parliament’s cross-party Treasury Committee. And it’s not just the NHS – schools and our armed forces are two other areas where tight budgets are diverted into profits for corporations.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), like our own PFI kicks the big ticket costs down the road and hides debts off the record by getting big corporations to build and then service establishments.

These ‘get now, pay later’ deals have massively inflated costs and tie governments down to contracts that have to be honoured for decade seven if the need changes radically.

However, let’s give credit where it is due – Jeremy Hunt a couple of years ago said: ‘One of my biggest concerns is that many of the hospitals now facing huge deficits are seeing their situation made worse by PFI debt.’

And Boris Johnson, speaking as London Mayor about a London Underground PPP, said: ‘In other countries this would be called looting. Here it is called the PPP.’ For once I agree with them! To find out more and call for change visit jubileedebt.org.uk/campaigns/public-privatepartnerships. Stephen Pennells, Jubilee Debt Campaign, Manchester