Scottish National Party MSP Bob Doris has called on Labour and Liberal MSPs to accept political responsibility after it was revealed that Labour’s doomed PFI policy is set to cost the Scottish taxpayer a staggering £27.7 billion from this year. Finance Secretary John Swinney confirmed the figures in answer to a parliamentary question. The SNP has also released figures on the annual repayments (as estimated in 2009) and the level of repayments to be made by local authorities over the next two years.

Mr Doris said: "If a government funds popular schemes by borrowing on the never never, where is it supposed to end? Finance firms did well out of Labour’s discredited PFI but the Scottish taxpayer might not feel so kindly now that the extent of the debt is apparent.

"It will take a generation to pay off this horrific accumulation of debt. This is Labour’s credit card binge and we’re all picking up the tab for it.

"Glasgow’s share of Labour’s PFI binge is £47.2 million this year alone. That’s £47.2 million less to spend on vital public services because we’re paying the inflated cost of Labour’s PFI projects.

"By 2016, PFI repayments in Scotland are going to crash through the £1billion mark and will not be cleared off until 2042. New building projects that may have bought Labour votes in 2005 will not look so impressive in another 32 years time.

"The SNP is using new money to fund infrastructure projects, schools, hospitals, and housing. A responsible government spends what it has. PFI was a dreadful waste of public cash and I think Glaswegians will take a longer term view of what’s best for Glasgow and support the SNP’s longstanding opposition to PFI."

Notes:

Parliamentary Questions:
Private Finance Initiatives and Public-private Partnerships (11 Feb 2009)
4. Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP):
To ask the Scottish Government how much it will have to find in total from 2010-11 onwards to fund all existing PFI and PPP contracts. (S3O-9521)

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth (John Swinney):
The total unitary payments for all existing PFI and PPP contracts from 2010-11 onwards are approximately £27.7 billion. That figure is inclusive of Scottish Government PFI/PPP funding contributions.

Kenneth Gibson: Does the cabinet secretary agree that PPP and PFI contracts have proven to be an extremely expensive way of delivering new schools, hospitals and infrastructure projects, often to a less than impressive standard?

Will he confirm that the Scottish Government will use traditional procurement methods and the Scottish Futures Trust to build much needed infrastructure projects that represent much greater value for money and do not bequeath an intolerable burden on future generations?

John Swinney: I assure Mr Gibson that running through the Government's capital programme, the work that we are undertaking with the Scottish Futures Trust and all our capital investment is the determination to maximise value for money for the taxpayer. Many PPP and PFI contracts were procured at far too high a cost to the public purse. The Government is determined to maximise value and sustainability in our capital programme in the years to come.

Scottish Government Finance

S3W-27557 - Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP) (Date Lodged Monday, September 21, 2009): To ask the Scottish Executivewhat the total PFI/PPP payments have been in each year since 2006-07 and will be for the duration of the repayment shedules.

Answered by John Swinney (Wednesday, September 30, 2009): The estimated total annual PFI/PPP unitary payments from 2006-07 onwards is provided in the following table.

Year    (£ Million)    
2006-07 439    
2007-08 520    
2008-09 613    
2009-10 723    
2010-11 820    
2011-12 876    
2012-13 919    
2013-14 932    
2014-15 956    
2015-16 987    
2016-17 1,000  
2017-18 1,023  
2018-19 1,042  
2019-20 1,054  
2020-21 1,071  
2021-22 1,075  
2022-23 1,077  
2023-24 1,091  
2024-25 1,097  
2025-26 1,082  
2026-27 1,061  
2027-28 1,026  
2028-29 1,015  
2029-30 903    
2030-31 797    
2031-32 773    
2032-33 739    
2033-34 739    
2034-35 705    
2035-36 675    
2036-37 665    
2037-38 601    
2038-39 505    
2039-40 316    
2040-41 202    
2041-42 138    

Scottish Government Finance

S3W-24128 - John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP) (Date Lodged Wednesday, May 20, 2009): To ask the Scottish Executive what the financial commitment to PFI/PPP is estimated to be for each local authority in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Answered by John Swinney (Thursday, June 04, 2009): The information requested can be found in the following table.
Estimated Total Annual PFI/PPP Unitary Payments by Local Authority

Notes:

1. The figures contained in the table are inclusive of the Scottish Government PFI/PPP funding contribution.
2. The table does not include the local authority figures for the Strathclyde Police procured Police Force Training Centre project in East Kilbride as these are not held centrally. However the estimated total annual unitary payments for this project in 2010-11 and 2011-12 are £3.7 million and £3.8 million respectively.