13 February 2004
Chancellor Gordon Brown's review of the Private Finance Initiative should stipulate that the rules that are mandatory for NHS PFI disclosure should apply to the whole of the public sector, according to a leading think-tank.
The centre-Left Institute for Public Policy Research claimed that the lack of disclosure for PFI deals outside the health sector is undermining the government's investment in public services, because it means that accountability for service provision is blurred, while the value for money of projects cannot be ascertained.
IPPR researcher Tim Gosling told Public Finance that the Treasury's PFI review should 'encourage the roll-out of mandatory rules regarding NHS PFI disclosure that do not currently apply to other sectors, which is to the detriment of those sectors'.
Gosling added: 'The public need openness to ensure that value for money is achieved and their needs are taken into account. Government and the private companies need openness to build trust in the process.'
In its study on PFI transparency, published on February 8, the IPPR found that 'getting hold of basic facts and figures about PFI projects is still too difficult', despite the fact that 'this kind of information is rarely commercially sensitive and can be disclosed without harming either private companies or government bodies'.
Gosling found that nine out of every ten documents requested from the NHS were made available to researchers, but just five out of every ten local councils released information on their PFI schemes, while four out of ten school PFI documents were made available.
Not one central government department made available information requested by the IPPR.
A Treasury spokesman said an ongoing review would assess the merits of rolling out the NHS's mandatory disclosure rules.
PFfeb2004
