PFI: Construction Performance

Most construction work under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is being delivered on time and at the cost expected by the public sector. Central government has generally obtained a much higher degree of price certainty and timely delivery of good quality built assets, compared to previous conventional government building projects, Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today. One of the core areas of debate around the use of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) concerns the performance of PFI construction projects, and in particular whether they deliver to the expected time, price and quality.The National Audit Office has, ever since the inception of the PFI, been at the forefront of objective, independent analysis of the circumstances in which PFI projects offer value for money to taxpayers. In addition to reports focused on individual contracts, and those focused on the performance of private finance in specific sectors, we have, from time to time, reported on issues of cross-cutting interest. One of our cross-cutting reports in 2003 examined the evidence surrounding the delivery of Private Finance construction programmes to the time and price expected by the public sector in the contract.