§ Sir Nicholas ScottTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans her Department has for encouraging the use of the private finance initiative in education.
§ Mr. BoswellIn December last, we issued the booklet "Education Means Business" which sets out opportunities for private investment in education. This was sent to all higher and further education institutions, grant-maintained schools and all other secondary schools, maintained special schools, local education authorities, diocesan bodies and teachers' organisations together with banks, solicitors and accountancy firms and other businesses that have expressed an interest in PFI and education. Copies were placed in the Library of the House.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Further Education Funding Council and the Funding Agency for Schools maintained registers of businesses and education providers who are interested in pursuing privately financed projects and put interested parties in touch with each other.
The Department—working together with the higher education funding councils and the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals—is organising a conference for universities and the private sector to encouraged further private investment in higher education. It is to be held on 23 March at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre. We arc considering whether it would be beneficial to organise similar conferences for the further education and schools sectors.
The Department's PFI unit is arranging a number of visits to schools and LEAs with the objective of promoting PFI.
As announced at the time of the last Budget, we are making changes from 1 April 1995 to the allocation of capital and recurrent grants to both higher and further education funding councils. This will enable them to give higher and further education institutions more flexibility to decide how to finance capital projects and, in particular, more scope to use private sector finance. In addition, further education institutions will have the same ability as the higher education institutions to use Exchequer-funded assets as security for loans.