§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many of his Department's private finance initiative projects were completed(a) on time and (b) on budget; and of those that overran in terms of (i) time and (ii) budget, who bore the cost. [141663]
§ Mr. MilibandEach schools PFI project involves a separate contract between the relevant local authority and a private sector contractor, and, for a variety of reasons, timetables of work may change from that which was envisaged when the contract was signed. It is not possible therefore, for DfES to hold a record of the circumstances of each completion. However, where there have been difficulties, these have generally been brought to our attention by the LEA concerned. These cases have been a small proportion of the total number of completions.
The responsibility for any overrun in terms of time and budget in any PFI project rests with the PFI contractor. Overruns in traditionally funded building projects are fairly commonplace but happen less frequently in PFI projects as the financial consequences of any overrun rest with the private sector.
§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many school private finance initiative schemes are being examined by the Project Review Group. [141664]
§ Mr. MilibandThe Project Review Group (PRG) meets approximately every six weeks. At its meeting on 18 November it considered and approved two schools PFI projects. Currently there are four schools PFI projects to be considered at the next meeting on 16 December.