6. How should future payments by the Government under existing Private Finance contracts be recorded in public sector accounts? Is risk transfer an appropriate test? Should all such liabilities be included in the national debt? Should they be accounted for separately from government debt? How much does the public sector accounting treatment of capital and revenue aspects of projects matter?
The harmonisation of UK and EU budgetary and debt measurement rules on the recording of payments under PFI contracts in public sector accounts is a welcome development, increasing transparency and comparability of government debt across the EU.