§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many(a) PFI and (b) PPP contracts have been agreed by her Department over the last five years; how many have been satisfactorily completed; and in how many has compensation been (i) paid and (ii) claimed for performance failure. [4602]
§ Mr. MorleyI replied to my hon. Friend by letter on 6 August 2001, and placed a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many PFI transactions have been overseen by her Department in each of the last 10 years; what her estimate is of the cost savings made in each of these transactions in comparison with the public sector alternative; what are the outstanding payments to be made in relation to these transactions for each of the next 15 years; and if she will make a statement. [5734]
1074W
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 20 July 2001]The Department has signed contracts for four PFI projects in the last 10 years. Each contract is still on-going.
The estimated total cost savings are:
Contract Saving £000s Broadland Flood Alleviation Scheme 5,400–20,000 Pevensey Bay Sea Defences 1,900 Brooklands Avenue Cambridge 2,700 Countryside Agency's SPIRIT (IT Services) 1,300 In addition to the above projects, the Department oversaw in the last 10 years eight waste management PFI projects where Local Authorities were the main contractors. Information on these projects is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Details of individual payouts to contractors under PFI contracts are usually regarded as commercially confidential. Aggregate figures of estimated payments under all PFI contracts for the years 2001–02 to 2025–26 were published in Table C18 of the Budget 2001 "Red Book".
§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the economic penalties imposed on private sector firms in each of the last five years for failures to deliver in relation to key performance indicators in projects involving the private finance initiative; and if she will make a statement. [57351
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 20 July 2001]In each of the last five years the Department has not imposed any economic penalties on private sector firms for failures to deliver in relation to key performance indicators in projects involving the private finance initiative, as there have been no such failures.