20 May 2005
Finance Minister Tom McCabe has called on critics of public-private partnership projects in Scotland to leave preconceived ideas behind and start looking for new solutions to project delivery.
Speaking at a major conference in Edinburgh this week, he said that some people had been slow to give up on the 'pointless debate' about whether private sector or public sector delivery was best.
He added: 'Other countries have been quicker to grasp that their economies and public services are best served by recognising and using the best of both.
'We intend to celebrate success in both sectors and, of course, both sectors will learn from mistakes. I want to emphasise strongly that the political leadership in Scotland supports a mixed economy approach.'
McCabe later denied that he was specifically criticising trade unions, which have been strongly opposed to the growth of PPP projects in Scotland. He said he had been referring to 'those at the political fringes who are still focused on ideology rather than outcomes'.
But his remarks angered trade union leaders. Matt Smith, Scottish secretary of Unison, insisted it was far from pointless to debate the most efficient method of delivering public services. 'The Executive requires to provide a level playing field to allow authorities to choose between public and private provision,' he said.
The argument came as a study commissioned by the Scottish Executive was published, showing that most local authorities believed PPPs already under way had been beneficial.
The survey, carried out by Cambridge Economic Policy Associates, was based on 64 PPPs contracted between 1992 and 2002.
The study says the evidence supports the strong view that PPP transfers construction risk to the private sector more effectively than historical procurement methods, and is likely to deliver value for money where there is strong competition and the projects are large, such as water schemes.
The two-day conference, which attracted a large attendance from the public and private sectors and was addressed by five ministers and a number of international speakers, was called by the Executive to consider its recently-published infrastructure investment plan.
Describing it as ' ambitious', McCabe said there was a need for greater skills and professionalism among public sector managers in appraising delivery options.
'At present, frankly, not all do this consistently and perhaps not all have had the necessary skills or experience for such evaluation,' he said.
PFmay2005
