This study has not sought to consider the role of finance, and evidence from the survey and interview work does not allow us to draw any conclusions on its importance. The standard arguments about the importance of including private financing as part of the procurement7 relate to the role of the banks in adding discipline, both in terms of due diligence on bids and incentives for performance. We believe that this is an issue that merits further work by the Scottish Executive - for example to monitor the outcome of the pilot projects proposed by HM Treasury to assess the value of public funding with private sector credit guarantees8.
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7 Design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) as opposed to design, build and operate (DBO)
8 PFI: Meeting the investment challenge (HMT), July 2003