Welsh taxpayers are being “fleeced” by PFI schemes, with costs for the eleven outstanding projects amounting to £1.5 billion, despite a ‘capital value’ of £308 million.
An investigation by the Welsh Conservatives has uncovered the hundreds of millions of pounds Wales’ public sector will have to repay as a result of “toxic” private finance initiatives (PFIs).
Shadow Local Government Secretary, Janet Finch-Saunders, uncovered the figures, from UK Treasury data which reveal the true extent of Wales’ PFI problem.
Controversial PFI schemes – whereby public sector bodies pay private companies or consortiums to build and manage new facilities – expanded massively under Tony Blair’s New Labour.
The council most indebted to a PFI scheme was Wrexham, which in 2009 entered into 25-year waste disposal agreement costing £52,438,000 with interest, that will eventually amount to more than £450 million.
Conwy County Borough Council entered into a PFI scheme worth £40.7m to build three schools, and will eventually pay back a total cost of £175.1m.
Whilst Bridgend Council entered into a PFI scheme worth £20.4 million to finance the building of Maesteg Comprehensive School and will eventually pay back a total cost of £66.9m.
[See table in Notes to Editors for a list of outstanding projects]
Welsh Conservative Shadow Spokesperson for Local Government, Janet Finch-Saunders AM, said:
“It is simply staggering to see so many Welsh councils caught in the grip of toxic PFI schemes.
“While there will be times when access to private capital is essential, more often than not they offer horrendous value for money and merely place future generations in the burden of debt.
“There are currently eleven PFI projects outstanding in Welsh councils, at a combined cost of more than a billion pounds above the capital value for those schemes and it does seem that the taxpayer is being fleeced.
“Given that the First Minister has previously condemned the privatisation of public services, it would be interesting to know what he is doing to discourage their use by public bodies in Wales.”
Notes to Editors
Please see attached document to view findings in detail, and table with extrapolated data for ease of consumption.