13 Sixty nine per cent of the PFI projects responding to our 2008 survey were completed and available for use either by the time specified in the contract or within one month (Figure 2). Although the remaining 31 per cent of projects were delivered more than one month late, the public sector is likely to have paid less due to the payment mechanism, under which payment does not commence until an asset is available for use.
14 PFI project completion to time remained broadly the same as projects reported on in 2003. In 2003 we reported 76 per cent of projects surveyed were completed and available for use by the time specified in the contract, with 24 per cent delivered late (Figure 2). The 2008 survey results are not statistically different from the 2003 results. Appendix 1 sets out further explanation of the statistical analysis.
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Figure 2
| year of survey | on time | Delayed | ||
| 2008 % | 2003 % | 2008 % | 2003 % | |
| Results | 69 | 76 | 31 | 24 |
| Range this percentage is likely to lie within | 60-78 | 22-40 | ||
NOTES:
1 Statistics are based on 108 respondents in 2008 and 37 respondents in 2003 (six additional 2008 respondents were unable to provide these data).
2 'On time' in the survey was defined as within one month of that stated in the contract. The 69 per cent of PFI projects in the 2008 survey shown as 'on time' includes five projects (five per cent of the respondents) delivered ahead of time.
3 A range of values has been presented as those who responded to our survey were only a sample of the total population, and therefore we cannot be certain the figures obtained are exactly those we would have obtained if every project responded. This is not relevant for the 2003 results as a census was conducted. See Appendix 1 for full details.
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15 Of those completed to time, nine per cent experienced delays in at least one of the project phases (individual hospital buildings or schools for example) prior to completion. Delays to these individual phases were made up later in the project, to ensure the project as a whole was completed to the contracted timetable.