3.32 The key risks that the Government does not seek to transfer in entering a PFI scheme, and which it retains in the same way in conventional procurement, are usually:
• the need for the facility on the date given and the adequacy of its overall size to meet public service needs. So for example, if an NHS trust underestimates the number of beds required to meet demand, it must pay the costs of expanding the available facilities just as it would had it built a conventional hospital;
• the possibility of a change in public sector requirements in the future. If the needs of public services change, the Government retains the responsibility to make alterations in both conventionally built and PFI facilities. Provisions for flexibility to cover changing requirements in PFI are covered in more detail below;
• whether the standards of delivery set by the public sector sufficiently meet public needs. The public sector retains the risk involved in planning the provision of public services, and specifying a procurement of facilities that meets those requirements, in both PFI and conventional procurement;
• in most cases, the extent to which the facility is used or not over the contract's life. For example, if the demand for school places in an area drops significantly, the Government would continue to pay unitary charges for a PFI school, in the same way as it would continue to own and maintain a conventionally procured school. In some cases, where it is value for money, this risk is passed to the private sector, so in some office accommodation, should the Government decide it no longer needs full usage of the building, the private sector would take on the risk that it could let the remainder of the floor space; and
• general inflation risk. Unitary charges are typically linked to inflation, and so are subject to the same inflation risk as future maintenance or other costs in a conventional procurement.