Schools PFI

A programme to spend £45bn on rebuilding many schools took its first major step today. A new state of the art school has just opened in Bristol and it looks stunning. It came in on time and on budget. Other PFI initiatives across the public sector haven't worked so well. Like the classic case of the two hospitals in Coventry that needed refurbishing at a cost of £30 million pounds. To attract PFI money this plan was scrapped and a single new hospital was built at a final cost of £410 million pounds. The NHS trust is now in debt and owes the private sector partners loads of money. So Coventry swapped two hospitals for one that has less money and less beds and nurses and doctors for a total saving of -£380 million. By the same scale up of costs the schools rebuilding programme will cost £615bn, a debt that will have to be paid in future generations. Gordon Brown loves PFI because he doesn't have to raise taxes to get public service investment andhe passes the debt forward to a time when he won't be in power. Read Captive State by George Monbiot or talk to anyone who works for a privatised company or a joint venture or PFI initiative and share in the horror of what is to happen to our schools.