Labour’s toxic legacy of private finance continues to be felt across Scotland, the SNP has warned today after the GERS figures showed that PFI payments rose to over £1.024 billion in 2017/18.
After the figures today showed that unitary charge payments relating to PFI projects have risen continuously over the last five years, up £26 million in the last year alone and still rising, the SNP has called on Labour and the Lib Dems to apologise for saddling councils across Scotland with such colossal debts of over £1 billion each year.
Commenting, SNP MSP Bruce Crawford said:
“Labour’s toxic PFI legacy means the public purse is still paying heavily over the odds for their decade-old debts.
“Deals like the PFI contracts for schools across Scotland, recently revealed as costing the public purse £434.3 million this year alone, a significant amount of the total schools’ budget of £5.2 billion, will leave taxpayers paying way over the odds for years to come. Many of these buildings weren’t even built to basic standards in the first place, causing serious safety concerns and school closures across the country.
“The reality is, local authorities are saddled with PFI bills of over £1 billion each year because of Labour’s mistake. This is money that could have used to pay for teachers, books and healthcare facilities, but instead it is being diverted to pay off Labour and the Lib Dem’s enormous PFI debts.”
