Interesting figures for NHS PFI payments

[AndrewW-G]

Like many others, I understood that PFI would be a good way to get capital projects completed quickly, but only if the contracts were negotiated well and the terms understood by all concerned

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politic...

Yes that’s right, for £56B of new hospitals; we will have to pay £226B! What sort of financial genius would sign us up to that sort of debt, over that long a term . . . . . I wonder how he’s getting on with his treatment at the nut house in Edinburgh?



(Pistonheads Moonboot warning: the use of "nut house" is for comic effect, mental illness as you know, is a very serious matter)

Edited by AndrewW-G on Tuesday 25th January 08:44

[Bing o]

COuld someone explain to me how PFI works - is it just like getting a loan to pay for a car that also includes servicing, but over 30 years, rather than paying down the capital over 5 years, and then funding servicing out of your pocket?

[968]

Bing o said:

COuld someone explain to me how PFI works - is it just like getting a loan to pay for a car that also includes servicing, but over 30 years, rather than paying down the capital over 5 years, and then funding servicing out of your pocket?

Yes, pretty much. Added to that, logistics and cleaning are often tied in with 30yr contracts.

[neenaw]

This was the one that really caught my eye:

Military dog kennels which would have ended up costing more per night than a room in the Park Lane Hilton, London. The deal to replace facilities at the Defence Animal Centre in Melton Mowbray resulted in the sacking of the contractor and the scrapping of the contract.

Surely if they could scrap that contract, they can scrap all the other p*ss poor contracts that Winky and his buddies have signed us up for!

[JagLover]

Most of the PFI deals, whether in the NHS or elsewhere, represent very poor value for the taxpayer and were used by Labour for the primary purpose of keeping the debt and the full value of the initial cost off the government's books.

[Chris Type R]

JagLover said:

Most of the PFI deals, whether in the NHS or elsewhere, represent very poor value for the taxpayer and were used by Labour for the primary purpose of keeping the debt and the full value of the initial cost off the government's books.

Which makes you wonder where the "boom" cash went.

[wolves_wanderer]

968 said:

Bing o said:

COuld someone explain to me how PFI works - is it just like getting a loan to pay for a car that also includes servicing, but over 30 years, rather than paying down the capital over 5 years, and then funding servicing out of your pocket?

Yes, pretty much. Added to that, logistics and cleaning are often tied in with 30yr contracts.

Looking at the facts you'd almost imagine that the deals were so one-sided they must have been negotiated by a bunch of halfwits...

[Bing o]

It would be interesting to see a comparison of PFI liabilities under the Major government to that under the last shower...

I can see how a properly negotiated and costed deal could be preferential to the tax payer. Just not under the scum we've just got rid of.

[paulrockliffe]

My favourite PFI (?) story is the sale of HMRC's HQ to a tax-haven based company. Genius.

[AndrewW-G]

Bing o said:

It would be interesting to see a comparison of PFI liabilities under the Major government to that under the last shower....

I've just emailed Eric Pickles (or whoever actualy reads his email) and asked if he could furnish us with some comparative data

[cmsapms]

Chris Type R said:

JagLover said:

Most of the PFI deals, whether in the NHS or elsewhere, represent very poor value for the taxpayer and were used by Labour for the primary purpose of keeping the debt and the full value of the initial cost off the government's books.

Which makes you wonder where the "boom" cash went.

Partial answer here

[baz1985]

I think reading who the directors of the PFI private sector partners are explains a lot!