We’re last of the private chancers
Scotland urged to follow rest of the UK and ditch discredited finance scheme
Scotland could soon be the only part of the UK using discredited PFIstyle funding for public projects.
Chancellor Philip Hammond vowed to cal l time on the schemes which see Government lease schools and hospitals from private f irms while paying commercial rates of interest.
Despite criticising PFI – the use of which became widespread in the UK under Labour
in the 1990s – the Scottish Government have run up huge liabilities through their own Non- Profit Distributing model run by the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT).
There are about 47 projects overseen by the SFT that are understood to have been built for £ 2.7billion but are likely to cost taxpayers almost £8billion in interest and maintenance over the next 20 to 30 years.
Scott ish Labour leader Richard Leonard said the party will go into the next Holyrood election committed to signing no new private finance deals.
The Scottish Government said: “PFI was phased out in Scotland more than10 years ago. No new PFI projects have been initiated since 2007. Funding of public infrastructure has vastly improved since then, with cumulative savings of over £1billion realised for taxpayers through our approach.”
They added that new models of funding enabled projects to progress more quickly.