§ Mr. Stephen O'Brien:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 21 November 1000W 2002, Official Report, column 280W, on PPP and PFI, what plans he has to review the system of assessing whether a PFI deal is on or off balance sheet.[94423]
§ Mr. BoatengNone. The Government's policy when accounting for PFI contracts is to follow Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP). In particular, Application Note F to Financial Reporting Standard 5—Private Finance Initiatives and Similar Contract complemented by the Treasury Taskforce Technical Note No. 1 (Revised) 'How to Account for PFI Transactions'.
The balance sheet treatment of particular assets procured through PFI is audited by the National Audit Office or, where applicable, the Audit Commission, not the Government.