Comment on PFI

PFI represents a valuable way of providing infrastructure investment and public service improvement. At a time when the public finance are constrained more than ever before, it is completely appropriate to look to Public Private Partnerships (PPP) to achieve some of our public sector goals. Changes to the PFI accounting should not be a reason to discredit it as a procurement method. It enables private sector financing and project expertise to be brought to bear which demonstrably helps ensure projects come in on time and on budget.

Nearly one thousand PPP infrastructure projects have been approved in the UK and there are many examples where this initiative has provided valuable funding to enable projects that make an important contribution to our society. As a pioneer in this field, the UK has internationally acknowledged expertise in this area. Over 100 nations are now looking to devise PPP systems based on UK best practice and these skills are proving to be of tremendous benefit in markets such as the GCC, which are embarking on massive infrastructural programmes.