"We are asking you to learn from the mistakes of the past. We must reject the notion that private finance can be used to build public services in a way that can be to the long-term benefit of the public, they said in their letter. We ask you to please drop any plans for new private finance in the NHS from the autumn budget and any future policy."
"While it was originally conceived under the Conservatives, Tony Blair's Labour government made significant use of PFI, a form of public-private partnerships used to build schools, hospitals and other public infrastructure, without adding to the national debt. In their joint letter, the dozens of Labour MPs said using private partnerships was more expensive than publicly funded projects and had contributed to crippling debts in the NHS since 1997, with 80 trusts still paying back a combined 44bn while services are suffering."
"Nor is it likely that using private finance will allow you to stay within your current rules on investment and borrowing, even if it is classed as off the public sector's balance sheet. The Office for Budget Responsibility indicated in 2017 that using off-balance-sheet' financing for public infrastructure to dodge borrowing rules amounts to a fiscal illusion' and that it should only be used if"
Forty Labour MPs have urged the chancellor to abandon plans to fund NHS buildings with private finance initiatives (PFI), arguing private capital would saddle the health service with long-term debt. The MPs named Cat Eccles, Clive Lewis and Rebecca Long-Bailey among those pressing for investment without private capital and warned that a return to New Labour-era private funding would damage trust in government. They called for dropping PFI plans from the autumn budget and future policy. The MPs argued PFI is more expensive than public funding, has contributed to crippling NHS debts since 1997, and leaves 80 trusts repaying a combined £44bn.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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