The Government has confirmed it remains committed to Public Private Partnerships (PPP), including those delivered via the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), and that such arrangements will continue to play an important role in delivering Britain's future infrastructure1.
To strengthen the current regime for PPPs, and increase the confidence of both public and private sector participants in this market, HM Treasury and Infrastructure UK, in coordination with government colleagues, have been focusing on the following areas:
• changing the way local authority PPPs are supported by central government;
• increasing the transparency of our commitments;
• reviewing our approach to project scrutiny and testing value for money; and
• updating our guidance relating to financing.
This note sets out recent changes made and confirms the delivery framework that remains in place going forward.
For the purposes of this note, PPP is defined as joint working between the public and private sectors, which may be by contract or through a joint-venture, to deliver infrastructure assets and services. The PFI is a long term contractual arrangement for the design, build, financing and operation of the services and the form of PPP most often used in the UK.
| Infrastructure UK Infrastructure UK sits within HM Treasury. It is focused on the improvement of the Government's long-term planning, prioritisation and delivery of infrastructure and enabling greater private sector investment in infrastructure. This includes setting the framework for PPPs. Infrastructure UK provides guidance, scrutiny and support to help the public sector harness the benefits of the UK's mature PPP industry, while ensuring partnerships are efficient and effective. |
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1 Speech by The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury, Lord Sassoon at the PPP Forum annual dinner, 3rd November 201 0. http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/speech_comsec_031110.htm