PFI will cost us billions for generations

GENERATIONS of Scots face being saddled with Labour’s toxic Private Finance Initiative (PFI) legacy as payments break the £1billion-a-year barrier.

Scottish Government figures show the cost was a record £1.079billion in 201 -16, up from £928million in 2011-12.

Labour politicians have repeatedly been urged to apologise for the expensive deals.

PFI schemes allow companies to receive an annual fee, usually over a 30-year contract, to construct and maintain public buildings. Around 1 0 schools and healthcare facilities were delivered in a decade across Scotland as a result.

But the repayments involved have far exceeded the original cost.

A study of 27 NHS capital projects, valued at £1.28billion, found that payments will reach £6.7billion over 30 years.

Nationalist MSP Tom Arthur said: ‘The scale of PFI repayments are now absolutely staggering – showing the sheer incompetence and damaging legacy of the previous Labour and Lib Dem Executive.

‘Deals like the PFI contract for Addiewell Prison, recently revealed as costing the public purse nearly £1billion for an £80million building, will leave taxpayers paying way over the odds for years to come.’