Unearthed - the real cost of PFI
Tuesday, November 27th, 2007£91 billion in today’s prices we are told & with interest mounting to over £171 billion over 20 years.
So far that is.
“PFI deals were supposed to give us certainty about the long-term costs of providing public services.
“The reality is different. Benchmarking and market testing of the costs of delivering ongoing services under PFI deals - such as catering and cleaning - have in practice led to increases in prices of up to 14%.”
A third of projects after 2003 attracted no more than two bidders compared with just 15 per cent previously, the Commons public accounts committee reported. Competition was put at risk if a bidder subsequently dropped out or one of the bids was weak, it said.
The committee reported that average tendering time had increased from 33 to 34 months since 2004. Delays to projects had cost the taxpayer at least £67m.
From the Public Accounts Committee report.
I for one would like to see the cost of directly funding these schemes calculated for comparison.
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