4 Thursday, July19, 2012 NORTHAMPTONCHRONICLE&ECHO

ARTWORK: BYKELLYCOOPER
developments without PFI.
Hesaid: All of our PFI deals
weresupportedbystrong
business cases.
Whiletheydoindeedrepre-
sent asignicant commitment
onour part, theyallowedus to
respondtochallenges inaway
that wesimplywouldnot have
beenabletoaordotherwise.
Thetotal costs represent not
onlytheloanrepayment with
interest, but alsotheassoci-
atedrevenue, salaryandmain-
tenancecosts for theprojects.
Wewouldhaveincurredthese
costs irrespectiveof whether
themoneywas borrowedina
PFI schemeor not.
Inaddition, weget PFI credits
fromtheGovernment which
meanwewill receiveupto
500mover thelifeof our
schemes towards thosecosts.
Repayments will peakat
55.9millionin2028-29, with
all themoneyduetobepaido
bythecouncil adecadelater in
2037-38.
Theredevelopment of the
countys schools comes at the
highest cost. Under thework,
whichstartedin2005, 11 new
schools werebuilt with30be-
ingredevelopedas thecounty
changedfromathree-tier
school systemtotwo.
NorthamptonshireCounty
Council signedaPFI con-
tract worth190millionfor
theworkandbythetimethe
32year longcontract ends,
910millionwill havebeen
repaid.
BerrywoodHospital, in
Duston, cost aninitial 36mil-
liontobuildbut will eventu-
allycost 154million.
During2011-12, atotal of
41.5millionwas repaidunder
PFI schemes.
DIGGINGDEEP: Thecountycouncil must make1.9billionrepaymentsforworkonbuildingnewschoolsandcarehomesandinstallingnewstreetlights
Is it Potentially Flawed
T
hetotal cost of build-
ingworkandmainte-
nanceof thecountys
schools, street light-
ingandhospitals,
agreedunder PrivateFinance
Initiatives (PFI), will total al-
most 1.9billionbythetime
thedeals havebeenpaido.
Thecontroversial PFI
schemes havenancedthe
rebuildingandmaintenance
of 41 schools inNorthampton,
thereplacement of 65,000
streetlights, thecreationof
theWooldaleCentre, the
buildingof twonewhospitals,
andresidential andelderly
persons carehomes.
Figures fromtheHer Majestys
Treasuryshowtheworks will
cost thetaxpayer hundreds of
millions of pounds morethan
theinitial 387millionthat
was investedintheprojects.
However, thelocal authority
will receivePFI credits from
theGovernment worthupto
500millionover thelifetime
of theprojects. The1.9bil-
lionalsoincludes therun-
ningcosts whichthecounty
council wouldhaveincurred
anywayas part of its service
delivery.
PFI schemes wereintroduced
in1992andallowprivatecom-
panies tonance, buildand
runpublicsector projects,
withthepublicsector repay-
ingthedebts withaddedinter-
est over along-termcontract.
Inthis county, sevenPFI
schemes arecurrentlyongo-
ingwithvebeingcontrolled
byNorthamptonshireCounty
Council, onebytheNorth-
amptonshireHealthcareNHS
FoundationTrust andoneby
theNorthamptonshireTeach-
ingPrimaryCareTrust.
Onceall thecontracts, which
last between25and32years,
havebeenpaido, theulti-
matecost tothetaxpayer in
Northamptonshirewill be
1.899billion.
Councillor Bill Parker, county
council cabinet member for -
nance, defendedtheschemes
sayingthecouncil wouldnot
havebeenabletoaordthe
ExcLustvsBvMATTBuaosss
Reporter
editor@northantsnews.co.uk
SPECIALREPORT
1.89billion repayment for 379mof vital work
All ourPFI
dealswere
supportedby
businesscases
www.northamptonchron.co.uk
@chronandecho
facebook.com/northamptonchron
+DOYOUTHINKTHECOUNCILWAS
RIGHTTOUSEPFI FUNDINGFORITS
PROJECTSINTHECOUNTY?
WHATDOYOUTHINK?
THE deal to press ahead with
what the Government at the
time claimed was the only
deal in town, has mortgaged
the people of Northamptons-
hire up to the hilt, according
tooppositioncouncillors.
Chris Stanbra(LibDem, Da-
nesholme), the deputy leader
of the Lib Dems on the coun-
ty council, said taxpayers had
been left saddled with a cri-
pplingdebttopayoforawhole
generation following the deci-
sionto ploughaheadwithcon-
troversial PFI schemes.
Hesaid: Theguresareex-
tremely concerning and show
that PFI has been a disaster,
with unimaginable sums of
moneybeingowed.
The people of Northamp-
CouncillorChrisStanbrabelieves
thecouncil shouldhavelookedfor
alternativefunding
tonshire have beenmortgaged
up to the hilt and we will be
forking out a fortune topay for
this for years tocome.
I simplycantbelievethere
werentotherwaysof doingthe
deal.
They should have looked
further into other ways of se-
curingfunding. Notenoughre-
gardwasgiventothelong-term
impact of this deal.
ThespirallingcostofthePFI
repaymentshasbeenhighlight-
ed inthe ongoing rowover the
future of Wooonlibrary, and
Mr Stanbra said previous con-
cerns were nowcoming home
toroost.
He added: There is nally
some realism, but its too lile,
toolate.
We will be forking out
a fortune for 25 years
5 www.northamptonchron.co.uk NORTHAMPTONCHRONICLE&ECHO
Northampton 01604 432007
Hunsbury 01604 706007
Far Cotton 01604 702007
Duston 01604 589007
Grange Park 01604 432007
Abington 01604 639007
Abington East 01604721007
Weston Favell 01604784007
Kingsthorpe 01604 722007
Brixworth 01604 880077
Town & Country 01604 233499
Lettings 01604 814400
dont missit!
FreeholdStreet Auctions
Quality goods canbe submittedMon,
Tues andWed10:00am- 3pm
FreeholdStreet Northampton
NN2 6EF
10:00amGeneral Sale
11:30amAntiques &Collectables
E
V
E
R
Y
S
A
T
U
R
D
A
Y
01604 716845
www.freeholdstreetauctions.co.uk
STEAMEDUP
DOUBLE GLAZING?
Broken or DamagedWindows?
Faulty Hinges, Handles or Locks?
Want the latest energy saving glass?
5 year guarantee on new double glazing.
www.cloudy2clear.com
Dont replace the Frames... just the Panes!
Call Freephone 0800 6121118
...we make saving money perfectly clear...
Northamptonshires
PFI billion pound debt
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
Original cost
Repayments
Wooldale
Centre
Danetre
Community
Hospital
Berrywood
Hospital
Schools
review
Street
lighting
Elderly
persons
homes
Residential
care homes
To be repaid
(M)
Project
details:
The centre
comprises the
Caroline Chisholm
secondary and
primary school,
public library,
pre-school and
community
facilities in
Wootton.
Initial spend:
23m
Total
repayments:
100.9m
Run by:
Northamptonshire
County Council
Project
details:
The hospital
brings together 11
separate functions
including a
GP surgery,
community
services,
outpatients and
more.
Initial spend:
28.2m
Total
repayments:
89.8m
Run by:
Northamptonshire
Teaching Primary
Care Trust
Project
details:
This new hospital
in Duston,
consists of 10
wards that help to
specialise in the
care of patients
with mental health
issues.
Initial spend:
36m
Total
repayments:
154.5m
Run by:
Northamptonshire
Healthcare NHS
Foundation Trust
Project
details:
In total 41 schools
were worked
on under this
contract. 11 new
schools were
built and 31 were
refurbished as
part of the 32 year
contract.
Initial spend:
191.2m
Total
repayments:
910.9m
Run by:
Northamptonshire
County Council
Project
details:
The most recent
of the seven PFI
contracts. 65,000
streetlights will be
replaced through
the county with
the scheme and
maintained.
Initial spend:
75m
Total
repayments:
227m
Run by:
Northamptonshire
County Council
Project
details:
The refurbishment
of two homes,
the rebuild of two
homes, new builds
of two homes,
improvement
works on one
home and the sale
of three homes.
Initial spend:
20.6m
Total
repayments:
244.6m
Run by:
Northamptonshire
County Council
Project
details:
In 2003 build and
operate 4 special-
ist care centres
in Rushden,
Corby, Daventry &
Northampton to
provide short term
rehabilitation and
respite care.
Initial spend:
12.9m
Total
repayments:
171m
Run by:
Northamptonshire
County Council
Schools
Streetlights
Care homes
Hospitals
year contracts
PFI contracts
ongoing
Investment?