§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much funding was and will be(a) provided and (b) planned by his Department as revenue support to local education authorities in England to meet private sector annual charges for private finance initiative projects in each financial year from 1997–98 to 2001–02; what percentage of the total cost to local education authorities of these projects this represents; and which of these amounts were counted as part of the additional money announced as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review (Cm. 4011). [99423]
§ Mr. Blunkett[holding answer 23 November 1999]: We will be providing PFI credits to local education authorities totalling £130 million in 1998–99, £350 million in 1999–2000, £350 million in 2000–01 and £450 million in 2001–02. The amount of PH credits allocated to an individual project determines the revenue support grant which will begin to be paid to the authority once payments to the contractor commence. The percentage of the total cost to the authority represented by the grant will vary from one project to another and no figures are available.
Within these total allocations, £660 million, £220 million in each of the years 1999–2000, 2000–01 and 2001–02, was announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review. That addition to previous provision was not part of the overall increase of £19 billion in UK education spending announced in the Review.
A further £100 million of PFI credits for 2001–02 was announced by the Chancellor in the pre-Budget statement on 9 November—again this is within the total figures above.