Private Finance Initiative (PFI) to receive extra £2bn of public money (bailout)

The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) introduced by the Conservative government and flourished under Blair's new labour. Big private firms extortionately profit through projects that build and maintain lots of public buildings & infrastructure, such as bridges, schools and hospitals - a total debt to the government & public of £267bn over 50yrs - which has been "both ring-fenced and index-linked". More recently it has led to stories about contractors charging £1,000 to install a TV aerial. And a private contractor charging £900 to put up a Treasury Christmas tree!

The Treasury's decision to pump an extra £2bn of taxpayers' money into recession-hit Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects is "throwing good money after bad," says the public sector union Unison. Chief economics correspondent Hugh Pym reports on how the recession has affected the government's PFI plans.
15 June 2009

George Monbiot rigorously criticise PFI's in 'Captive State: the Corporate takeover of Britain' and in this article: http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2010/11/22/the-uks-odious-debts/

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Private
• Finance
• Initiative
• PFI
• corporate
• takeover
• george
• monbiot
• odious
• debt
• uk
• british
• privatisation
• corporatocracy
• skye
• bridge
• bailout