The use of the PFI/PPP model is preceded by the creation of 'the only option' by restricting public sector capital spending and heavily promoting claims about the advantages of PFI/PPP.
"PPPs can create an "affordability illusion" (mainly due to the deferral and spreading of public sector payments through time), which tends to be exacerbated when a project is found to be off balance sheet" (Eurostat et al, 2016).
"30 per cent of procuring authorities responded to renewed pressures that their project was unaffordable, in many cases because of increases to the scope or specifications of the project, by increasing the length of the contract. This masked the effect of any changes by reducing the level of the annual payment. However, in doing so, the total cost of the project over the lifetime of the longer contract was increased" (NAO, 2007a).