Taxpayers face £199bn bill over PFI projects.
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As predicted by some of us back in the days when the Blair government first expanded a policy launched by the Major government creating the PFI (private finance initiative) schemes, as a way to use private sector investment in order to deliver public sector infrastructure and/or services,the prospect of such close associations between government and private industry was always a bad idea, not good for taxpayers or society. Today's report by the National Audit Office reveals that there is "little evidence that government investment in more than 700 existing public-private projects has delivered financial benefits"
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The report goes on to state that "The cost of privately financing public projects can be 40% higher than relying solely upon government money". The result of this, is that over the past 25 years but particularly particularly since 2010, the whole PFI concept has spiraled out of control and with cost the taxpayer more than £200 billion to contractors.This is without the effects of the Corrilion collapse which will cost the taxpayers £ billions for many years to come, as the full implications of the collapse on business and subcontractors, reliant on Carillion and the thousands of workers employed in the associated industries become revealed.
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The government continued to pump out contracts to Carillion, even when it was abundantly clear that the company was in trouble. This in itself was gross negligence and incompetence and can only be seen as a lamentable attempt to bailout or prop up the company. The report from the National Audit Office today,is yet another condemnation of the philosophy which has driven government thinking in respect of private company involvement in social projects for the last 10 years.
This scheme is a disaster for society and for the country and must be scrapped immediately.
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