Public private finance – secret and eye-wateringly expensive

#STUC16 The STUC will call for an independent enquiry into PFI/PPP funding models for public sector building work, as well as into the Edinburgh schools contracts which has led to such disruption for pupils, families and staff.

Seconding an emergency motion from the EIS, UNISON’s Susan Kennedy told delegates that the issues raised around PPP by what has happened in Edinburgh go well beyond a single project and call into question the whole funding model as it has been used from its inception to the present and plans to continue using it in the future.

Further cuts to local services not sustainable, says UNISON Scotland

Date: Tuesday 2 February 2016

UNISON Scotland is calling for the Scottish Parliament to use its powers to put more money into local services. By 2020 expenditure on public services will be 12.5% lower in real terms. That is on top of the £2.5bn cuts since 2010.

This next round of cuts will mean at least another 15,000 job cuts for local councils. Of the 50,000 jobs that have been lost in devolved public services, 40,000 have been in councils. 

The need for council services has not disappeared, remaining staff have to take on extra work, and do the best they can to deliver what they can. UNISON has the evidence to show our local services are in crisis and further cuts are simply not sustainable.

Mark Ferguson, chair of the UNISON  local government committee said, "Local government services are vital. They deliver health, education, clean and safe streets, child protection and much more. 

"In short they create a good society and the Scottish government should use every power they have to mitigate the worst effects of UK government austerity. 

"The Scottish Parliament has tax raising powers - they can end the council tax freeze, they can work with councils to refinance PFI schemes or invest pension funds in public works, or do more to follow the recommendations of the Christie Commission and invest in preventative spending as a way of making sustainable savings. 

"The bottom line is they have the powers to protect Scots from the worst of austerity. The need for local services has not gone away, so why should our local services?"

END  
UNISON Contacts 
Dave Watson 07958 122 409
Danny Phillips 07944 664 110

New financial powers could save Scottish councils £50m, says UNISON

Wed 27 Jan 2016 Public services union UNISON has today (Wed 27 January 2016) urged the Scottish Government to push ahead with proposed new financial powers for Scottish councils to relax the rules for borrowing, lending and the repayment of loans.  These proposed changes to Scottish councils' financial powers should now be used for greater flexibility to deal with the funding crisis in Scottish councils. If used effectively it could save Scottish councils upwards of £50million, or save over 1000 jobs.  UNISON called for these ‘long overdue’ changes in their report Combating Austerity (Sept 2015). The report called for a relaxing of the repayment of loans fund regulations, arguing that councils need greater flexibility to mitigate austerity.  The Combating Austerity report explores all options and argues that making full use of flexibility in new borrowing or refinancing, and restructuring existing borrowing could potentially free up significant sums of money, at a time of severe austerity cuts.  Dave Watson, head of UNISON Scotland policy and public affairs said,  ‘These limited changes are very welcome we have been urging the Scottish Government to introduce them for some time. Scottish councils are in real crisis, cutting local services and shedding 1000s of jobs. Giving councils this flexibility could save upwards of £50m and over 1000 jobs. This is not going to solve the problem but is an example of how we need to start thinking to mitigate the worst of austerity and council tax freeze.'  UNISON is now urging the Scottish Government to go further and include new proposals to enable councils to borrow to either make grants to third parties where these grants fund capital expenditure, or for the authority to incur expenditure directly on third party tangible assets; and a new provision for a local authority to be able to borrow to lend to any of its subsidiary bodies where the loan is to be used to finance capital expenditure of the subsidiary. Dave Watson said, ‘Further changes beyond what is now being proposed, could make a real difference and mitigate some of the worst of austerity. Councils could use new types of borrowing to support, for example buyouts of expensive Privtae Finance Intitiative (PFI) contracts or, perhaps, to finance new conventional spending, they could offer health boards an alternative to expensive hub Public Private Partnerships (PPP), PFI, or Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) schemes. We think they could be doing this now. However the Scottish Government should make it explicit in the rules for Scottish councils, so we can encourage innovation and more efficient use of public funds. And vitally, use these rules to save our public services and thousands of local jobs. END Notes for editors  • UNISON is the biggest trade union in Scotland and the biggest union in local government.  • UNISON report Combating Austerity: signposting the ways Scotland could limit some of the damage from Austerity (PDF). Combating Austerity Press release 23 September 2015 here: http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/news/2015/sepoct/0923.htm • UNISON summary briefing here:  http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/briefings/ e-briefing_RelaxingBorrowingRules4Councils_Jan2016.pdf • The new draft Local Authority (Capital Finance and Accounting) (Scotland) Regulations 2016 and on Loans Fund Accounting are set to come into effect, with any changes following the consultation, from 1 April 2016 and statutory guidance can be read here:http://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2016/9780111031063 • These regulations cover changes to the statutory arrangements for local authority borrowing, lending and the statutory loans fund. They were the subject of a short consultation at the end of 2015.  • UNISON Consultation response to The new draft Local Authority (Capital Finance and Accounting) (Scotland) Regulations 2016 Here: http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/response/ LocalAuthorityCapitalFinanceRegs_UNISONResponsetoScotGov_Jan2016.pdf

Scottish public bodies must mitigate austerity, says UNISON

Date: Wednesday 23 September 2015

UNISON Scotland is launching a campaign today (23 September 2015) calling on the Scottish Government, local authorities and public bodies to do all they can to mitigate UK government austerity.

The public services trade union is calling for a range of financial and industrial policies to create investment in Scottish infrastructure, green energy production and jobs.

With interest rates at an all time low, it is cheaper to buy out or refinance PPP / PFI contracts saving up to £12bn; pension funds could be a source of badly needed investment for infrastructure, we need a political consensus on reform of local taxation; and councils should collaborate in using bonds as a means of financing borrowing rather than routinely using the Public Works Loan Board.

Dave Watson, head of UNISON Scotland bargaining and campaigns, said ‘We are expecting a further £2bn of cuts to local public services across Scotland. We could save £2bn by refinancing PFI / PPP projects. Every sensible measure that government and public authorities take will reduce damage to vital public services and protects jobs. And some councils are already using pension funds to invest in affordable housing, but we need to do this on a national scale.'

Dave Watson continued: 
‘Scottish local government has already seen over 40,000 job losses and many more jobs have been lost in the NHS, police, community and voluntary sector. Of course UNISON is joining with the STUC and others to campaign against austerity, however we are ready to work with Scottish Government and public authorities to do all we can to mitigate against the worst effects of these cuts’

The report is launched today

END

Notes

• UNISON is Scotland’s public services union, and it is the biggest trade union in Scotland
• The full report can be read here:http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/CombatingAusterity_Sep2015.pdf

Time up for PFI Pro£iteers in Lanarkshire

UNISON Lanarkshire Health Branch has launched a campaign to bring staff providing 'Soft' Facilities (catering, portering, domestic and security) currently employed by Serco in Wishaw General Hospital and ISS at Hairmyres Hospital back in-house.

The Branch has taken the decision after discovering that NHS Lanarkshire planned to rollover the existing contracts on both sites to the private pro£iteers who are currently operating them. The Health Board has 'bench-marked' the services in both hospitals against the in-house services at Monklands Hospital.

UNISON believes this 'bench-marking' exercise was a farce, who in their right mind would compare services currently provided at a dilapidated Monklands with relatively new facilities at Wishaw and Hairmyres. To be clear this is NOT an attack on the staff who provide a service in Monklands but more a comment on the great work they do in difficult circumstances in an extremely old building not fit for purpose!

UNISON has produced a PFI bulletin which we have directly mailed to all Lanarkshire MSP's and MP's along with a letter asking them to support UNISON's campaign to bring the staff back in-house were they belong.

The Branch has also produced a model letter for members, their families and supporters to send to local MSP's and MP's urging their support and a petition asking the general public to also support this campaign.

Let's be clear PFIs are bleeding Lanarkshire's NHS, its time to put a stop to pro£iteers draining OUR National Health Service.

Support our campaign You can support our campaign in a number of ways you can directly email NHS Lanarkshire Chairperson Neena Mahal Nina.Mahal@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk and/or Chief Executive Ian Ross ian.ross@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk

Alternatively you can write to them both at: NHS Lanarkshire Headquarters, Fallside Road, Bothwell G71 8BB

New FOI rights miss out most outsourced bodies - CFoIS

#FOI
UNISON Scotland today backed criticism of the Scottish Government that new increased Freedom of Information rights don't go nearly far enough.

The union backed the Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland (CFoIS), which condemned a limited extension as "missing most outsourced bodies" that should be included.

Tomorrow (4 Sept), the Scottish Parliament Local Government & Regeneration Committee has on its agenda the Scottish Government's draft Order which brings local government leisure and cultural trusts under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

But the CFoIS wants MSPs to grill Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, when she comes before the Committee tomorrow, on when FOI will be extended to private prisons, PFI contractors, housing associations and other bodies providing public services.

Private firms asked to bid for NHS work for next 3 years

A report by Helen Puttick in The Herald today says that private firms are being invited to bid for NHS work for the next three years... "days after health secretary Alex Neil described the use of the independent sector 'as a temporary phenomenon'."

This followed news that health board spending on private healthcare went up by nearly 60% last year.

UNISON's Willie Duffy, lead organiser for health, is quoted in the Herald report, condemning the use of the private sector in this way. He said: "We should be investing in quality NHS services rather than pouring money into private healthcare.

“It is common sense that money going to pay to have these operations carried out privately would be better spent within the NHS.”

Union hits out at high cost of private financing for Scottish transport projects

21 June 2013
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.

E-Briefing for MSPs on today's Public Procurement Reform debate

17 April 2013

 

MSPs have been asked by the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee for their views on

"the efficacy of current public procurement processes and on the scope and potential for improvements to be made to these processes", to inform future work on the proposed Procurement Reform Bill.

UNISON Scotland has called on the Scottish Government to use the Bill to support innovative action against tax dodging and the use of tax havens, banning companies involved in tax dodging from public contracts.

We urge members to highlight the following ways in which procurement processes could be improved, to ensure that public spending on procurement is used to deliver important social, economic and environmental benefits, including improved protection for workers.

The Bill should be used to promote:

labour rights and workforce protections, such as the PPP Protocol and Section 52 Guidance (both of which must now be urgently reviewed and extended), and compliance with the Equality Act


a tax justice approach, where, using appropriate legal advice, the best options are found to bar companies using tax havens and/or other forms of tax dodging from being eligible for public contracts


a positive employment agenda – with companies which do not comply with a range of other certain basic standards not permitted to tender for public contracts (for example the blacklisting of trade unionists in the construction industry should lead to exclusions)


the Scottish Living Wage, both for directly employed staff and for employees working for contractors


sustainable procurement across the public sector, ensuring that public procurement policies contribute properly to Scotland meeting its climate change targets and support a ‘Just Transition’ to a low carbon economy

Collective Concerns voiced by civil society

Given the far-reaching implications of this Bill, UNISON Scotland is pleased to join with large civil society coalitions in Scotland – Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, Scottish Fair Trade Forum and Enough Food for Everyone IF – to highlight our joint concerns about the direction the proposed Bill is taking and to call for social, environmental and ethical objectives issues to be at the heart of this important piece of legislation.　

 

UNISON's response to the Scottish Government Procurement Reform Bill consultation.

 

UNISON's tax justice proposals for the Procurement Reform Bill.

 

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Email MSPs to protect Freedom of Information rights

11 Jan 2013

Contact your MSPs - ask them to protect Freedom of Information rights

Stage 3 Debate on Freedom of Information (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill
Wed 16 Jan 2013, 2pm Scottish Parliament

The Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland (CFoIS) and UNISON Scotland are campaigning to amend the Freedom of Information (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill, aiming to protect the public’s right to know.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FoISA) must be reformed to ensure a robust framework, so the public enjoy an enforceable right to know.

We think it is essential that the public has full rights to information on PPP/PFI contracts, leisure trusts, Arms Length External Organisations (ALEOS), housing associations and other bodies currently not covered by FOISA. There is strong and widespread support for information rights to ‘follow the public pound’.

A major reason for the weakening of FoISA is that promises to add named bodies and categories of bodies have not been honoured, leading to information rights being lost. The Scottish Government and previous Scottish Executive Administrations have never used their powers to do so, through an order under section 5 of FOISA.

We are asking you to email MSPs letting them know which amendments we would like them to support or oppose in the debate on Wednesday 16 January.

Amending the Bill is also necessary to meet the Scottish Government’s own FoI principles, 1 and 2: that “the public’s right to know remains an essential part of an open, democratic government and responsive public services” and FoISA “will be adjusted where it is necessary and sensible to do so”.

Consistently the Scottish Government has assured people of its good intentions, its willingness to act and to listen. For example, Nicola Sturgeon, the Deputy First Minister, said during the 5 December Stage 2 Debate "Even though I am asking the committee to reject amendments this morning—including amendment 8— for specific reasons, I will continue to consider the scope for introducing amendments at stage 3 that try to encapsulate the views of the campaign and the committee where that is possible." Clearly the Scottish Government has decided it is not possible for them to accept the detailed arguments made by CFoIS and UNISON.

We urge MSPs to:

• Support amendments: 1 – 9, 12 and 14
• Oppose amendments: 10 and 11
• No view: amendment 13 which appears to be of a technical nature.

Links:

UNISON's MSP briefing at Stage 2

CFoIS briefing at Stage 2

Uncovered: CFoIS briefing Nov 2012

Detailed briefing:A detailed briefing setting out our views on each amendment will be provided here and sent to MSPs before the debate.

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New film tells important story of Skye Bridge anti-toll protests

28 Dec 2012 

The successful campaign against tolls on the Skye Bridge is the subject of a BBC Alba film to be broadcast on New Year’s Day.

The media co-op film ‘An Drochaid/The Bridge Rising’ highlights once again the extortionate rip-off of the Private Finance Initiative – the Skye Bridge being the first UK PFI project.

Former Dingwall Procurator Fiscal David Hingston, who prosecuted the protesters who refused to pay tolls, is interviewed, saying: “PFI, in my personal opinion, is a fraud upon the public. It’s an abuse of government. The bridge should have been paid for out of public funds.”

Media co-op describes the documentary as an “epic, feel-good story of a modern rebellion” that is also a “bittersweet tale of passion, ego, and financial skulduggery.” They cite figures showing the total £25m of private investment cost taxpayers and road-users more than £74m.

It features almost all the key players including Skye and Kyle Against Tolls (SKAT) protesters, politicians, the bridge engineer, police and PF. However, Bank of America, the bridge owners before the 2004 buy-out by the then Scottish Executive, declined to take part. 

Producer Louise Scott said the film tells of “a successful uprising of a community against a bank, a rebellion against the idea of making private profit from public works.” A cinema length version is to follow.

Mischief making, the fun of days in court (“like going to the Shinty Cup final”) and a march across the bridge with beer barrels of ‘Extortion Ale’, are interspersed with recollections from some of the well known SKAT characters, including Robbie the Pict and former NUPE (UNISON’s predecessor union) official Andy Anderson, along with politicians such as former Scottish Office minister Lord James Douglas Hamilton, former Labour minister Brian Wilson and the former Liberal Democrat MSP John Farquhar Munro.

And it reveals that former Skye police sergeant Dennis Hyndman - who arrested his neighbours when they refused to pay the toll - was a secret supporter of the anti-toll campaign. “If I hadn't been a police officer I would have been down there protesting along with the rest of them."

The film will be shown on BBC Alba at 8.05pm on Tuesday 1 January 2013, repeated on Sunday 6 January at 8.30pm. Short trailer here Read more in reports in The Herald and Third Force News.

UNISON Scotland reports on PFI and PPP projects, including the Skye Bridge, are here.

.

PFI trends on Twitter - UNISON says halt these "rip-off" deals

Unusually, the Private Finance Initiative is trending on Twitter today.

Why? Because an English health trust faces insolvency  - a reminder again that PFI and PPP schemes are a scandalously expensive way to fund new schools and hospitals.

UNISON wants to see an end to these "rip-off" deals.

The Scottish Futures Trust is busy promoting PPP. See our briefing on PPP/PFI in Scotland.

.

Award confirms Scottish Futures Trust role as promoter of PPP

Tuesday 5 June 2012

UNISON today challenged the Scottish Government to come clean about the real role of the Scottish Futures Trust after it won an international award for promoting PPP/PFI.

The union said that the Partnerships Bulletin prize makes clear what UNISON has said from the start about the Scottish Government’s flagship scheme - that it is about promoting private involvement in public infrastructure, not in securing best value in building schools and hospitals.

The Scottish Government claimed the SFT would be an alternative to PFI. Infrastructure and Capital Investment Secretary Alex Neil said recently again that the Scottish Government has “set the country free from the shackles of PFI.”

Dave Watson, UNISON head of Bargaining and Campaigns, said:

“The SFT is proud that it ‘swept the board’ at these PPP/PFI industry awards.

“But the public will want to know whether the Cabinet Secretary is proud that the SFT has been identified as the ‘best central/regional government PPP promoter’ and its chief executive as making the best individual contribution?

“That surely is not what was intended in setting up the Scottish Futures Trust. It should be about securing best value for the public sector.

“Everyone knows that PPP/PFI is more expensive than conventional funding of schools and hospitals. One of the reasons that PFI has such a bad name is because it was seen as ‘the only game in town’ and the private sector took full advantage of that.

“In fact, PPP is still the only game in town for many projects. The Scottish Government should be creating a level playing field as a minimum. Instead it is actively promoting PPP through the SFT. When the chief exec of the body that the Scottish Government said would put an end to PFI is winning awards for promoting it, there is something seriously wrong.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. The Scottish Futures Trust  won  the “Best central/regional government PPP promoter’ and two other awards. The National Housing Trust award is for a giant PPP scheme. SFT chief executive Barry White won ‘best individual contribution’.  http://www.partnershipsbulletin.com/awards/2012-winners.html

2. UNISON Scotland’s briefings on PPP/PFI are on our website at  http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/comms/pfi.html

 .

Public Accounts Committee report on PFI

The Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has warned today that, in too many cases, investors have made "eye-wateringly high" profits while taxpayers are trapped in expensive and inflexible contracts.

The Committee Chair said: "The current model of PFI is unsustainable. Time and again my Committee has reported on problems with PFI, including the costly contracting process and the prospect of little risk being transferred but high returns being enjoyed by  investors. 30 year contracts are inflexible and don’t allow managers to alter priorities or change services that have become outdated. We have even seen evidence of excess profits being priced into projects from the start."

All of this could have been lifted from a UNISON briefing 15 years ago. Time for the UK and Scottish Governments to think again.

Sack Lothian PFI contractor

UNISON response to Lothian Health Statement over failings by PFI contractor Consort

Health Board must sack PFI contractor. Say UNISON

UNISON Lothian Health Branch Secretary Tam Waterson Said:

“We’re glad the penny has finally dropped for Lothian Health about PFI. It’s just a pity that hundreds of millions of other pennies had to drop into Consort’s pockets before they realised.

“The Board say consort’s failings can no longer be tolerated. It’s taken them over a decade - but we are delighted that they have come round to our way of thinking.

“Staff in the ERI are undergoing a pay freeze, and paying a hike in the cost of their pensions, for which they’ll receive no benefit, yet nothing seems to stop the flow of money into the pockets of big business PFI merchants. Health Service Staff across Scotland are paying an extra £50m out of their wages this year, and doing more as staffing levels fall – Consort can underperform and still pick up £60m. It’s a scandal”

If Consort were a member of staff - they would have been down the road a long time before now”

UNISON Head of Bargaining and Campaigns Dave Watson said:

“We’ve consistently criticised PFI in general, and the set up at ERI in particular for many years. It’s a costly and inefficient way of delivering services. It’s meant to mean a transfer of risk , but when things go wrong the risk stays with the public sector– and at the end of the day, the public – because the companies expect to get paid.

“Many of consorts failings through the year stem from the PFI contract meaning that there are in effect two chains of command for many of the staff. This leads duplication and confusion.

“The Health Board should now be seeking an exit from this failed arrangement with Consort and at the very least be looking to bring facilities management at ERI back in house”

Notes to editors

1. Consort are due to receive £1.26 Billion pounds over the course of the ERI contract (after which they not Lothian health board will own the building). The capital cost of the hospital was £184m The value of this contract was first exposed by UNISON in 2003

2. UNISON Scotland report on the extent, and persistence of PFI in Scotland http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/briefings/b016_PolicyBrief_PPPPFIinScotland_December11.pdf

3. Consort catalogue of errors from Edinburgh Evening News

http://www.scotsman.com/news/health/eri-surgeon-forced-to-operate-by-torchlight-1-2242627

New UNISON study argues for proper service redesign instead of back office cuts through flawed 'shared service' models

Tuesday 20 March 2012


The front line starts here

A new 16-page report for UNISON Scotland argues that 'efficiency savings' which are often expected from piecemeal organisational change such as flawed 'shared services' models are rarely achieved. In fact, the vast majority of front line staff - around 90% - who have faced cuts to so-called 'back office' admin jobs believe this has been at the expense of their primary tasks.

'The front line starts here' document, published today, outlines the case for full service redesign to be explored as an option when developing shared front and back office service proposals.

Dave Watson, Head of Bargaining and Campaigns, said:
"The UK National Audit Office reported this month that Whitehall departments have spent a staggering £1.4 billion over the past seven years - but saved just £159 million by ill-advised schemes for sharing 'back office' functions such as personnel and procurement.

"Our report highlights the importance of designing systems from the service user upwards - as opposed to piecemeal organisational change in the form of structures, which is resulting in the separation and fragmentation of services across the Scottish public sector.

"We want to end that kind of waste. Instead we want to work with public authorities to explore full service redesign as an option when developing shared front and back office service proposals."

The new report includes results from a UNISON survey of frontline public service worker in areas like social work and protective services, which shows that cutbacks in admin functions have damaging effects on vital public service, and are rarely effective or efficient.

Dave Watson said:
"The vast majority of the front line workers we surveyed - 94% - believed that it was more effective to provide administrative support in the same office than to centralise in 'shared service' type back office operations. 'The front line starts here' seeks to expose the flaws in creating artificial splits between the front and back office services when setting up shared service delivery arrangements, as back and front office services are interdependent."

ends

Note to editors:

1. UNISON is Scotland’s largest trade union representing over 160,000 members working in the public sector in Scotland. Our members work together in the teams providing vital public services for all our communities - whether they are regarded as 'frontline' or 'back office'.

2. 'The front line starts here' was prepared for UNISON Scotland by APSE – the Association for Public Service Excellence (Scotland) - and is available for download here:
www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/ thefrontlinestartshere_mar2012.pdf 

3. Results of UNISON Scotland survey 2011 included in 'The front line starts here' document:

In 2011 UNISON Scotland surveyed a sample of ‘front office’ staff on administrative support. Primarily professional staff in local government such as social work, planning, protective services etc. The key findings included:

• 87% reported that their administrative staff support had been reduced.

• 92% of those using replacement selfservice systems felt that this had added to their workload at the expense of their primary tasks.

• 84% indicated that they were being expected to perform clerical or administrative tasks that used to be performed by staff trained to perform those functions.

• Of those who were undertaking additional administrative tasks:

- 26% said up to 2 hours per week
- 24% said between 2-4 hours per week
- 37% said between 4-7 hours per week
- 13% said more than one day per week

• 94% believed that it was more effective to provide administrative support in the same office than to centralise in back office operations.


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FOI must be safeguarded - Scottish Information Commissioner

Scotland's outgoing Information Commissioner Kevin Dunion has played a vital role in establishing a strong Freedom of Information regime.

In overseeing the successful implementation of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), he has made wide-ranging and important decisions backing the public's right to know.

Just one example, among many, is a number of key decisions on PFI/PPP, where the Commissioner ruled that information was wrongly withheld and should be made public.

His Special Report to the Scottish Parliament today makes recommendations for ensuring that FOI legislation is safeguarded.

The Scottish Government has failed to act on one of the most compelling of the Commissioner's long-argued points - that information rights should follow the public pound.

His report today emphasises that extending FOI legislation to cover private companies and other bodies that deliver public services is in many cases not an extension, but SAFEGUARDING rights that are being eroded.

Mr Dunion's report says, about designating additional public bodies to be subject to FOISA:

"...designation is not necessarily about extending rights to information, but safeguarding them. This is particularly true where services which were once supplied directly by public authorities covered by FOISA are now delivered by bodies which are not, such as: trusts established to deliver services on behalf of local authorities; those private contractors which provide health, educational and penal infrastructure and services to the public sector; and housing asssociations to which housing stock has been transferred from local authorities.

"Tenants, patients, parents, service users, voluntary organisations and indeed elected members lose the right to information when such a change in service delivery takes place."

Scotland is at risk of falling behind the UK FOI legislation in this area. The Scottish Government should think again about extending FOI to cover these bodies and, as recommended by Mr Dunion, should establish "a rolling programme of active review..so that designation can keep pace with changes in public service delivery."

See also the report in today's Herald Commissioner leaves with call for extra powers


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UNISON: FOI reveals Scottish Water has no business cases for PFI deals - and Parliament was misled

Monday 22 August 2011

No business cases can be traced for multi-million pound PFI wastewater contracts – and a Scottish Parliament committee appears to have been misled – according to a decision by the Scottish Information Commissioner over Scottish Water.

UNISON Scotland has welcomed the groundbreaking Freedom of Information (FOI) decision by Scottish Information Commissioner Kevin Dunion, but said it was “scandalous” that it showed Scottish Water has no business cases for nine PFI contracts.

The decision also reveals that Scottish Water conceded it may have misled a Scottish Parliament Committee over the documents.

The Commissioner Kevin Dunion has ordered Scottish Water to provide UNISON with full financial information on its PFI wastewater contracts, over-ruling their objections that this would substantially prejudice the confidentiality of commercial or industrial information.

Following a lengthy investigation, he found that, incredibly, Scottish Water does not hold any Full Business Cases (FBCs) for the multi-million pound water and sewerage PFI contracts, therefore does not have to release them to UNISON.

FBCs are supposed to provide the case for proceeding with a PFI contract although critics, including UNISON, argue the figures are often ‘massaged’ to support PFI over conventional financing.

The Commissioner’s Decision Notice shows that Scottish Water admitted, in effect, to misleading the Scottish Parliament’s Transport & Environment Committee in 2001, informing him that “it was possible a document had been liberally referred to as an FBC when it was not actually an FBC.”

UNISON’s Scottish Organiser Dave Watson said it was “scandalous” that either the projects had been approved without any FBCs that could be scrutinised to examine claimed value for money issues, or that these key documents had been lost.

He added: “Scottish Water says that FBCs were not required to be carried out for these early PFI projects, but the Scottish Government’s own website still to this day says that FBCs were published for two of the nine contracts and Scottish Water told MSPs that at least three existed, yet it has not been able to trace them.

“We also asked the then Scottish Executive for these documents and they too said they were not held, but at that time we assumed at least that Scottish Water would have them. We will be pursuing the mystery of the missing or non-existent FBCs with the Scottish Government again.

“We expect MSPs will also be concerned to learn that they were led to believe in 2001 that FBCs were carried out when it seems highly likely that these contracts were approved on the basis of minimal ‘back of an envelope’ calculations, which is a disgrace.”

The nine contracts, most of which run for 30 years, cost nearly £600 million in capital costs and around £130 million annually.

Following UNISON’s initial Freedom of Information request to Scottish Water in 2006, some information from seven contracts was provided at different stages, with all of the information from three being released - Moray, Tay and Daldowie. (The Scottish Executive had separately provided some information on two other water PFI contracts.)

Mr Dunion said: “Scottish Water did not provide any reasoning as to why the disclosure of particular information in certain contracts appears not to have damaged Scottish Water’s interests while the disclosure of similar information in other contracts would, or would be likely to, prejudice those interests substantially.”

Dave Watson added: “For too long commercial confidentiality has been used to keep the true costs of PFI from the public. This decision shows how important it is for Freedom of Information legislation to be extended to cover private companies providing public services as so many are not covered, including the privatised English water companies.

“In this case, the Scottish Information Commissioner concluded that the information withheld was subject to the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004. The EIRs can cover the contractors whereas FOI legislation doesn’t. The Scottish Government last year dropped their limited plans to extend the legislation but should reconsider this urgently.”


ENDS


Notes to editors

1. The full Decision Notice ‘Decision 166/2011 Unison and Scottish Water PFI/PPP Wastewater contracts Reference No 200701447’ is available from Monday 22 August on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website at www.itspublicknowledge.info/ApplicationsandDecisions/Decisions/Decisions.php

2. The  Scottish  Parliament’s Transport & Environment Committee 2001 Report on Inquiry into Water and the Water Industry is at www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/historic/x-transport/reports-01/trr01-09-vol01-01.htm. The reference to a document referred to as an FBC when it was not is at paragraph 57.

3. The Scottish Government information on PFI/PPP contracts ‘Done Deals’ is at www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/donedeals

4. UNISON Scotland’s Report ‘At What Cost’ is at www.unison-scotland.org.uk/comms/atwhatcostoct07.pdf

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MPs highlight PFI costs

More evidence today on the cost of PFI from the Westminster Treasury Select Committee. Their report says that PFI is poor value for money and their should be a stricter criteria for its use.

The main recommendations are:

The Treasury should consider scoring most PFIs in departmental budgets in the same way as direct capital expenditure, adjusting departmental budgets accordingly;

the Treasury should discuss with the OBR the treatment of PFI to ensure that PFI cannot be used to ‘game’ the fiscal rules;

the Value for Money assessment process should be subjected to scrutiny by the NAO;

the Treasury should review the way in which risk transfer is identified.

These recommendations are remarkably similar to the points made by UNISON over many years. In Scotland we detailed these costs in our 'At What Cost' report. We are entitled to say 'told you so' based on an analysis of schemes going back more than a decade. If governments had listened then, the taxpayer would have been £millions better off and still had the new schools and hospitals. It is and never has been an either or option.

Sadly there is no sign of PFI coming to an end. The UK government may be reigning back, but schemes are still being approved. The Scottish Government, through the Scottish Futures Trust, has approved a whole new programme of PFI schemes in Scotland. The next generation will continue to pay for this folly .

Evening News: PFI hospital helipad 'almost useless'

Edinburgh Evening News 16 August

By Adam Morris

Health Reporter

 

THE helipad at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary has been left "almost useless" for the last four years with two-thirds of emergency flights unable to land, it has emerged.

 

The Evening News has discovered that the location of the helipad at the Little France site, among trees and hillside, means it can only operate in daylight hours because of a change in Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) rules.

That means the majority of patients being moved to the ERI by helicopter have to instead land at Edinburgh Airport, before being transferred to an ambulance, adding up to an hour onto their journey.

Unions said it was yet another example of how the "flawed" PFI deal to build the hospital at Little France had a negative impact on services...

 

Read more