OVER the past few days, we've chronicled the story of how New Labour's private finance initiatives (PFIs) have impacted Scotland – from schools in poor condition to hospitals without air conditioning.

Now, The National can reveal that Scots have had £29 billion of debt foisted on us by PFIs – and that we will be paying the bills until 2043.

So, what does our debt look like? And what, exactly, did it buy us?

What does the debt look like?

Scottish local authorities, NHS boards and other public bodies have been paying "unitary charges" – the "mortgage payments" and service charges for PFI projects – since 2000.

In total, public bodies are on the hook for £29.86bn of unitary charges – on just £5.8bn worth of infrastructure.

So far, £16.533bn of Scotland's contract costs have been paid by various public authorities, while an estimated £13.328bn remains to be paid.

 

Some of the difference between the project values and the total costs comes down to how PFI contracts work.

The consortiums that built hospitals, motorways and schools across Scotland take some responsibilities, like cleaning, catering and maintenance, from public bodies.

They take payments for these through the unitary charge, meaning that these services are factored into the projects' lifetime costs.

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But experts The National spoke to say that a good part of the difference between the cost of projects and debt comes down to profiteering.

In most PFI contracts, little stopped private companies from designing in as much profit as they could get away with.

In the early years of PFI, the annual fees were quite low, with costs for swathes of new hospitals, schools and motorways staying under £400 million a year up until 2007.

But costs quickly skyrocketed – in 2009, annual charges passed £500m, and in 2012 they hurdled above £800m.

In 2023, they finally breached £1bn – with Scottish taxpayers on the hook for an estimated £1.091bn this year.

The figures will keep climbing until they hit a peak of £1.107bn in 2026 – then, its a slow fall until 2043, when £138m will be due.

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However, the story of PFI in Scotland still won't be over.

At some 11 facilities across the country, public bodies will need to either cough up millions of pounds to buy them from the consortiums that built them – or pay millions more in annual "management fees" for years on end.

What did PFI buy us?

A total of 75 PFI projects were built in Scotland between 2000 and 2012, after which all new infrastructure projects here were funded by different means.

Education takes up the largest slice of the PFI pie by sheer numbers, with 35 projects across Scotland holding a value of £3.046bn and with £14.223bn in debt.

Next up is health – 24 hospital projects were procured under PFI, delivering around 30 healthcare facilities.

NHS boards built facilities valued at £1.216bn, with a total of £7.604bn in debt linked to them.

Following that up is waste water, with Scottish Water undertaking seven projects with a value of £451.4m and debt worth £3.919bn.

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Next comes transport, with three motorways and an A-road being built with a value of £609.7m, and a total cost to the taxpayer of £2.480bn.

The last major grouping of PFI projects is prisons, with three prisons being built with a value of £129m and a total cost of £1.434bn.

Rounding out the list is a waste management contract at Argyll and Bute council valued at £21.7m and costing £130.72m, and an office for Perth and Kinross council valued at £15m and costing the taxpayer £70.44m.