UNISON today (Friday) welcomed the call from Audit Scotland for greater transparency on the costs of five key transport projects.
The public services union said it was clearly wrong that the
full public sector financial commitment for the projects has not been reported
before now and condemned the continued use of expensive PFI/PPP through
so-called Non Profit Distributing (NPD) financing.
Audit Scotland warned that the total estimated spending
commitment over 30 years is £7.5 billion but that the Scottish Government “has
not fully demonstrated the reliability” of its analysis that this is
affordable.
Dave Watson, Head of Bargaining and Campaigns, said: “Two of
these road projects use NPD, while the Borders Rail project failed as an NPD
scheme.
“We have long warned about the high costs and lack of
transparency about PFI/PPP. It is mortgaging future generations to the hilt at
greater cost than conventional financing.
“Today’s report warns about inconsistencies and inherent
uncertainties in the way costs are estimated. UNISON is concerned that Full
Business Cases, which should in theory allow assessment of potential costs and
any service delivery issues, are not produced early enough. Pressure to deliver
the project overwhelms the need for adequate financial scrutiny.
“For Audit Scotland to say that the Transport Scotland and
Scottish Government reports on infrastructure spending don’t provide any
information about the estimated long-term budgetary commitments arising under
revenue-financed projects is pretty damning.”
UNISON has warned about the difficulties of assessing costs
of PPP schemes as these are often deemed ‘commercially sensitive’.
Dave added: “The report notes that due to commercial
sensitivity we don’t yet have public reporting of the 30 year costs for the NPD
schemes. However, we welcome Audit Scotland confirming* that the costs should
not be commercially sensitive once contracts are in place, as this has
frequently been challenged when Freedom of Information requests are made.
“We look forward to full details being published as soon as
possible after that.”
* (Par 103)
ENDS
Note
to editors:
1.
UNISON’s briefing on PFI/PPP projects in Scotland is online at www.unison-scotland.org.uk/briefings/b016_PolicyBrief_PPPPFIinScotland_December11.pdf
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