By Keith Aitken in Edinburgh | 13 August 2013
The Scottish Futures Trust, set up by ministers to develop innovative approaches to funding capital projects, has recorded its fourth successive year of increased savings and other benefits to the public purse in Scotland.
In its annual Benefits Statement, published today, the SFT reports independently verified savings worth £132m in 2012/13. This compares with £131m last year, £129m the year before and £111m in the inaugural year of 2009/10; and takes the cumulative total above £500m.
Publishing the figures, the trust’s chair, merchant banker Sir Angus Grossart, said: ‘SFT has made remarkable progress in the relatively short period in which it has been operational, with the clear objective of delivering increased value on public sector investment in Scotland.’
SFT promotes a number of funding models and programmes aimed at accelerating public investments or improving their value to the public finances.
These include Tax Incremental Funding, which allows borrowing against future tax revenues to pay for investment, and the Non-Profit Distributing programme, which encourages private investment in public projects while capping equity returns. The trust also runs the National Housing Trust, which supports new housebuilding of homes for rent, and Schools for the Future, which helps councils manage new schools projects.
Landmark developments in the past year include a £65m SFT-brokered collaboration between East Renfrewshire and Midlothian councils, on opposite sides of the country, to build schools to a common interior design. This is estimated to have saved more than £4m.
The trust says that some 20 other Scottish councils are now engaged in similar collaborations. Chief executive Barry White said: ‘The Eastwood and Lasswade schools are a perfect example of what SFT and local authorities can achieve through collaboration, and by having the courage to take an innovative approach to design, procurement and construction for the benefits of the communities the councils serve.
‘In addition, SFT’s work in achieving greater value across the Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme has meant that 12 more schools can now be built from within the existing budget, taking the total number of [new] schools from 55 to 67,’ he added. ‘Because of this, 12,000 more children will benefit from being educated in first-class surroundings.’
Deputy First Minister and Infrastructure Secretary Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the report. ‘The benefits of these savings to the economy are significant – every additional £100m of investment supports 1,400 jobs in the Scottish economy,’ she said.
‘The Scottish Government is doing all it can to maximise investment in infrastructure projects across Scotland. But while we are doing what we can, there is no question that cuts imposed on us by Westminster are impeding our efforts to support infrastructure investment and jobs.
‘That is why the work of SFT and the savings it delivers across the public sector is vital not only for giving taxpayers a good deal but also in order to provide more high-quality infrastructure across Scotland that will benefit generations to come.’
