8.15 All land which is included in a PPP scheme must be in the ownership of the NHSScotland body before it is sold to the private sector for subsequent resale. The NHSScotland body will need to value the land at its open market value (OMV) in order to demonstrate that Scottish Ministers have obtained value for money on the disposal. Where a subsequent disposal price is to be included in the PPP contract the NHSScotland body should demonstrate that Scottish Ministers (acting through the Board) are obtaining the best price on the open market for the land.
8.16 Timing of the decision to sell the land should be considered carefully. If the valuation is undertaken in the financial year prior to sale it will be included in the balance sheet at the year-end. This will distort the net relevant assets of the NHSScotland body and hence its cost of capital charge. For this reason, it is recommended that NHS Bodies ensure that all the transactions occur within the same financial year.
8.17 It may be that property is transferred between NHS Bodies without requiring payment of cash. This means that such transactions should not score against the Capital Resource Limit (CRL). Any disposal of the estate is therefore not treated in the same way as Land and buildings transferred to another NHSScotland body and then sold on as a separate transaction as part of the PPP deal.
8.18 Detailed criteria for establishing suitability for inclusion in the PPP deal are outlined in this guidance. Suitability should be established at OBC (Outline Business Case) stage (or for schemes with a capital value over £25 million at Strategic Outline Case stage) as reference will need to be made in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) notice which follows OBC approval.
8.19 Boards should confirm that surplus land is suitable for inclusion in a specific PPP project. Boards will need to reconfirm this as part of the full business case (FBC). Including the land within the PPP scheme must be consistent with the local strategy for disposals and use of the estate.