College Bristol Metropolitan, the replacement of a component, cost a total of 8 154 pounds (9 050 euros). At the nearby school, a faucet is income 2 211 pounds. A third institution has paid 2 024 books for a sink… For the past few years, the excesses of public-private partnerships (PPPS) are exposed in the United Kingdom. Blocked in signed contracts for ten or fifteen years earlier, in the face of private companies that have no reason to be flexible, schools are often left with the cost of maintenance is absurd.
The United Kingdom discovered today with fright the invoice of the PPP. Under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown (1997-2010), more than 700 PPP have been signed. The aim was simple : to open new schools and new hospitals without giving the impression that the State was indebted to. Businesses were investing, and were reimbursed by the local authorities in twenty to thirty years. Add to this, often a contract of maintenance of the building. “At the time, a local authority had no choice, it was the only way to invest,” recalls Dexter Whitfield, European Services Strategy Unit Research, sector specialist.
The immediate result has been positive. The United Kingdom has benefited from the construction of numerous new infrastructure. But today, the time of repayment has arrived and the invoice is salty. In 2017, the british authorities have had to pay a little more than 10 billion pounds in interest.
199 billion pounds
Even if there is no new PPP is signed, the promissory notes will remain at approximately the same level until the beginning of the years 2030 and then reduce gradually until the year 2040. In total, he will have to pay 199 billion pounds, according to a report from the National Audit Office, the equivalent of the Court of auditors.
In the best case – if the construction goes well and that the maintenance contract is…