Scottish Futures Trust and PFI
Thu., September 11, 2008. 17:06.
Keeping it in the family.
Ahead of John Swinney's Ministerial Statement on the Scottish Futures Trust, the Scottish Greens issued a challenge to the Cabinet Secretary to provide any evidence that the Trust represents an improvement on Labour's PFI/PPP approach, and lambasted the Scottish Government's proposals for a second Forth Road Bridge.
Patrick Harvie MSP said:
"John Swinney says he opposes Labour's PPP/PFI legacy, yet last year he came clean and admitted that the SNP's alternative is part of the same family. (1) There can be debates about how close the family relationship is between them, but whatever it is, it's too close for comfort. Greens accept that PFI and the Futures Trust are not identical twins, but they are at least brother and sister.
"We agree with Swinney's Cabinet colleague Fiona Hyslop, who just two years ago argued against using this kind of funding model for the bridge, describing it as "inefficient, costly and fundamentally flawed". (2) Whatever the approach to funding, that remains a good description of the Scottish Government's plans for the second Forth Road Bridge, although I would add "unsustainable" and "irresponsible" to the list.
"The SNP seem determined to keep it in the PFI family with this scheme, which is the mother of all unnecessary roadbuilding projects, especially now we know how cheaply the existing bridge could be repaired. (3) They should be providing some explanation of how the SFT is safer than PFI, but instead Ministers are just asking us all to trust them. I for one am not prepared to take a risk on that scale with taxpayers' money."
Notes
1. John Swinney, Finance Committee, 27 May 2007: "The NPD models are part of the family of public-private partnerships, but PPP is a generic family term for all such approaches."
See: http://tinyurl.com/5m8r4v
2. September 2006. Fiona Hyslop: "Who in their right mind would plan to use PFI to deliver vital projects like the new Forth crossing or better schools and hospitals when time and time again it is proved to be inefficient, costly and fundamentally flawed?"
See: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/education/Executive-to-agree-plan-to.2835687.jp
3. Even if dehumidification fails, and the evidence is that it is working, the existing bridge can be recabled for around a fortieth of the cost of a new bridge.
See: http://tinyurl.com/5w3wp5
Contact the Scottish Greens' press team on 07909 933 074.