UNISON Response to Government Reform of PFI

UNISON's response highlights our concerns around the high costs of PFI; the lack of flexibility; lack of value for money; lack of risk transfer of PFI projects from the public to the private sector; poor quality of service; and the cost of government bail-outs when projects fail. It warns that PFI is no longer relevant or effective, and calls for an end to the scheme. It advocates a return to conventional procurement, which will ensure a more efficient, flexible and cost effective way of building public assets, such as schools and hospitals. The response also calls on the government to monitor the impact of existing PFI contracts on the workforce and on service quality.

UNISON Response to Government Reform on PFI

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The role of private finance in public investment

The report shows that PFI is not value for money, despite the coalition government backing this form of investment. It warns that the cost of PFI has risen astronomically following the financial crisis and the gap between the rate at which the government and the private sector can borrow has widened dramatically.
The role of private finance in public investment

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Reclaiming the Initiative - putting the public back into PFI

The report catalogues how ever-growing billions of public money has become locked into financing massively expensive PFI schemes. The Government has committed taxpayers, for a generation to come, to a bill of more than £217bn worth of repayments between now and 2033/34 on just  £64bn of PFI projects. PFI’s reliance on the private sector was supposed to give public building programmes more rigour and strength but, as the union’s latest report - “Putting the Public Back into PFI” – shows, in reality it has exposed them to greater hazards and weaknesses. Public projects have been tainted by private failure
Reclaiming the Initiative - putting the public back into PFI

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Refinancing: profiteering from public services

Lots of PFI contractors are 'refinancing' their loans - changing the terms of their borrowings to increase profits by as much as 80%. Most public bodies making PFI deals have allowed contractors to keep all these windfall profits. The National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee have condemned these arrangements and said the benefits of refinancing should be shared between contractor and client.
Refinancing: profiteering from public services

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What is wrong with PFI in schools

As more PFI schools are built it becomes possible to judge their success. UNISON has members intimately involved in PFI. This report draws on their experience and rounds up the evidence to date.
What is wrong with PFI in schools

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