§ Jon TrickettTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many Government construction projects with a net present value of £250 million or more are utilising(a) Private Finance Initiative methods and (b) conventional methods of procurement; [142321]
(2) if he will list the (a) value and (b) nature of each PFI construction contract being undertaken. [142324]
§ Mr. BoatengWhile construction is often a major element of a PFI project, it is not true for all. PFI procurement also involves design and maintenance of public facilities. We do not therefore breakdown contract value by the component parts and cannot therefore provide figures for PFI construction by value centrally. Individual departments may, however hold this information on an individual project basis.
The Treasury does submit data on signed PFI projects to parliament biannually. This information, which includes the capital value and nature of each project, is submitted by departments and collated into a 'Signed Projects List' which is published on the Treasury's website www.hm-treasury.gov.uk.
The most recent Signed Projects List states that there are 13 projects with a capital value of more than £250 million. I am happy to write to my hon. Friend
Public Sector Jobs in the UK Thousand, not seasonally adjusted August 1997 August 1998 August 1999 August 2000 August 2001 August 2002 Number of jobs 4,954 4,944 5,094 5,094 5,212 5,298 Change on previous year — -10 150 0 118 86 Source:
Administrative returns from public bodies
338Wwith the details of these projects should he so wish. Departments do not submit information on the net present value of their projects.
There is currently no central data source on the capital value or net present value of conventionally procured projects.
§ Jon TrickettTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) in how many Private Finance Initiative contracts the value of the cost estimates increased after the time at which the relevant department had established the identity of the contractor; what the increase in value was in each case; and what the percentage increase was in each case; [142322]
(2) if he will list the value of (a) the construction element and (b) the percentage added for risk when calculating the public sector comparator for each Private Finance Initiative contract which is being undertaken. [142323]
§ Mr. BoatengPFI covers a broad range of procurements across government. This means that there is no standard breakdown of a public sector comparator. The new green book provides Departments with further advice on how to incorporate optimism bias and risk calculations into the project appraisal process.
The information requested by my hon. Friend is not held by the Treasury. Where available, information on individual PFI projects will be held by the procuring authority or sponsoring Department in question. Information on construction performance, both general and project specific, is also available on the NAO website at www.Nao.gov.uk