Private Finance Initiative (PFI)

Welcome

Welcome to the UNISON PFI and PPP pages. In these pages you will find

  • Information about PFI and PPP
  • Information about why UNISON opposes PFI
  • Specialist pages containing information and news about PFI in the health service and in local government
  • Education resources to use at branch and workplace level to inform members about the dangers of PFI and what they can do about them

You can navigate through this site and access the material in it by following the links

What are PPP and PFI?

Public Private Partnerships (PPP) is the umbrella name given to a range of initiatives which involve the private sector in the operation of public services. The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is the most frequently used initiative. The key difference between PFI and conventional ways of providing public services is that the public does not own the asset. The authority makes an annual payment to the private company who provides the building and associated services, rather like a mortgage.

A typical PFI project will be owned by a company set up specially to run the scheme. These companies are usually a consortia including a building firm, a bank and a facilities management company. Whilst PFI projects can be structured in different ways, there are usually four key elements: Design, Finance, Build and Operate.

The Positively Public Campaign

Positively Public is UNISON's campaign to keep our public services public. Years of privatisation and underfunding have left many areas of public provision in a poor state. We welcome better funding of these vital services. But we don't believe that more privatisation is the answer.

All our evidence and experience shows that once services are run for private profit, the quality of care is reduced and the public service ethos is replaced by a hard-nosed profit motive. It is about who makes the decisions about caring for your elderly relatives or your children's education or housing the homeless-someone with their heart in the right place, or someone with an eye on the balance sheet.

Link to another page on this site Positively Public campaign

Bargaining Support Group

UNISON can also provide information and guidance to branches involved in campaigning against PFI projects through the Bargaining Support Group at Mabledon Place.

The Bargaining Support Group collects information on companies, their public sector contracts, and other operations. This can be used by branches for campaigning against a particular company, a specific project, or a bargaining issue arising from a PFI transfer.

Bargaining Support Group can provide your branch with reports on

  • Private Companies holding contracts in the public sector, including information on finances, contracts and ownership
  • Agreements with private companies signed by UNISON
  • Company Updates - A monthly bulletin providing the latest information and developments on companies in which UNISON has an interest, alongside much more information that your branch may find useful in a PFI campaign.

Link to another page on this site Bargaining Support Group

CONTACT DETAILS
• The UNISON contact for PFI issues is Margie Jaffe.
UNISON PFI
1 Mabledon Place
London WC1H 9AJ
Email: m.jaffe@unison.co.uk
PFI documents

At What Cost?

This UNISON report shows how using private firms to build and run schools and hospitals in Scotland is wasting billions of pounds
Link to a PDF document on this siteAt What Cost?

Building Schools for the Future : A concise branch guide

(17/03/2006) This concise advice should be read with the APSE report for UNISON:'Building Schools for the Future: A Branch Handbook' Stock number 2484) It describes key stages in the BSF process and highlights UNISON's concerns.
Link to a document on this siteBuilding Schools for the Future : A Concise Branch Guide

Building Schools for the Future :A Branch Handbook

(17/03/2006) This guide goes through the key stages in the BSF process and provides negotiating and technical advice for branches.
Link to a document on this siteBuilding Schools for the Future : A Branch Handbook

In The Interests Of Profit: At The Expense Of Patients

An examination of the NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) model, analysing six key disadvantages.
Link to a PDF document on this siteIn The Interests Of Profit: At The Expense Of Patients

PFI: Against the Public Interest

The report analyses the failings of the government's private finance initiative and public private partnerships, highlighting high profile contracts which have failed and PFI companies, such as Ballast which went into receivership.
Link to a PDF document on this sitePFI: Against the Public Interest