Fifty-First Report - Managing the expiry of PFI contracts

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 1114 19 March 2021
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 25 items (12 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 25 of 25 classified)
Accepted 19
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 3
Deferred 1
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fifty-first report from Session 2019-21 · published 31 Aug 2021
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Recommendations & Conclusions

3 results
9 Conclusion Acknowledged
Each individual authority is primarily responsible for managing its PFI contract, including the expiry process.
Conclusion
Each individual authority is primarily responsible for managing its PFI contract, including the expiry process. However, when an authority needs help, varying degrees of support are available from multiple sources across government. In the first instance, each authority will be … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged the committee's conclusion by reiterating that individual authorities are primarily responsible for PFI contract management, with support from sponsor departments and the IPA as the centre of expertise.
HM Treasury
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24 Conclusion Acknowledged
The authority is responsible for managing the PFI contract until expiry, at which point it...
Conclusion
The authority is responsible for managing the PFI contract until expiry, at which point it inherits the assets.54 In some instances, ownership of the PFI assets can transfer between different public bodies before the contract expires, creating a potential conflict … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states HM Treasury will set out its response to the complex issue of asset ownership transfer, particularly concerning school academies, by Summer 2021.
HM Treasury
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25 Conclusion Acknowledged
Over 300 PFI schools have been converted to academies.
Conclusion
Over 300 PFI schools have been converted to academies. We asked whether local authorities might be incentivised to protect their budgets by limiting expenditure on managing the contract rather than maintaining the assets as they would not own them at … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states HM Treasury will set out its response to the complex issue of school academies and potential liabilities by Summer 2021.
HM Treasury
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