This report presents information on: the rationale, costs and
benefits of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI); the use and
impact of PFI, and ability to make savings from operational
contracts; and the introduction of PF2. There are currently over
700 operational PFI and PF2 deals, with a capital value of around
£60 billion. Annual charges for these deals amounted to £10.3
billion in 2016-17. Even if no new deals are entered into, future
charges which continue until the 2040s amount to £199 billion.
We present information on the programme as a whole and do not
seek to form a view on the model or individual projects. This
briefing was prepared prior to the announcement on 15 January
2018 that the construction company Carillion was in liquidation.
Notes for Editors
1. Press notices and reports are
available from the date of publication on the NAO website. Hard
copies can be obtained by using the relevant links on our
website.
- 2. The National Audit Office
scrutinises public spending for Parliament and is independent of
government. The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), Sir
Amyas Morse KCB, is an Officer of the House of Commons and leads
the NAO. The C&AG certifies the accounts of all government
departments and many other public sector bodies. He has statutory
authority to examine and report to Parliament on whether
departments and the bodies they fund, nationally and locally,
have used their resources efficiently, effectively, and with
economy. The C&AG does this through a range of outputs
including value for money reports on matters of public interest;
investigations to establish the underlying facts in circumstances
where concerns have been raised by others or observed through our
wider work; landscape reviews to aid transparency and good
practice guides. Our work ensures that those responsible
for the use of public money are held to account and helps
government to improve public services, leading to audited savings
of £734 million in 2016.
