Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 15
39th Report - Government’s use of private finance for infrastructure
Published 11 Jul 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Government’s use of private finance for infrastructure All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The overall value and number of infrastructure projects delivered using private financing models is significant, for example, on the Regulated Asset Base model, a combined £9 billion was invested in Thames Tideway Tunnel and Heathrow Terminal 5.28 In addition, the government announced in June 2025 that it will invest £14.2 billion in the Sizewell C nuclear 23 C&AG’s Report, para 3.29 24 Q 60; Correspondence from HM Treasury, 27 May 2025 25 Q 60; Government Major Projects Evaluation Review, Evaluation Task Force, April 2025 26 Qq 4 and 6; C&AG’s Report, paras 3.21-3.22 27 Qq 24 and 57 28 C&AG’s Report, para 1.8 11 power station.29 With the exception of PFI contracts, private finance contracts are not monitored centrally because responsibility for them rests with departments and sector regulators.30 Written evidence we received from Affinitext highlighted that the absence of complete, digitised and searchable contracts undermined effective contract management, preparation for assets to be handed back to the public sector at the end of a contract, and value for money assurances.31
From: Public Accounts Committee, 39th Report - Government’s use of private finance for infrastructure (HC 821), 11 July 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty-ninth Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026 (deadline 11 September 2025).
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty-ninth report from Session 2024-26
Published 15 October 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" in each of the recommendations set out in the response, describing some as implemented and others as having target implementation dates between October 2026 and May 2027.
- On the pipeline, the government says the recommendation is implemented, citing the Infrastructure Pipeline published by NISTA in July 2025, with updates "every 6 months", and NISTA has written to the Committee alongside the Treasury Minute.
- On financing models, the government agrees but says the preferred model is "the one that offers the best value for money", appraised "on a case-by-case basis" using the Green Book.
- On a central database, the government agrees with a target implementation date of May 2027. It will expand the Pipeline over time and "explore whether" the additional information sits best there or in a parallel product; the Pipeline would not include legacy PFI or commercially sensitive information.
- On risk allocation, the government agrees with a target date of May 2026, saying the Treasury and NISTA "will set out further guidance by May 2026" on contract and performance management and on resetting infrastructure projects.