Recommendation 17

In 2021, the IPA told the previous Committee that it was unable to conclude its evaluation of the benefits of PFI because it was unable to draw any meaningful conclusions from the data.37 The Treasury told us that the IPA was asked to deliver the information on benefits but found that the data was not available for what the private sector had done and what the public sector comparator would have been. In addition, NISTA told us that it was 29 Qq 24, 43 and 59; C&AG’s Report, para 1.8; HM Treasury, Thousands of jobs to be created as government announces multi-billion-pound investment to build Sizewell C, June 2025; Sizewell C, Green Light for Sizewell C – The First Majority British-Owned Nuclear Power Plant in Over 30 Years, June 2025 30 Q 68; C&AG’s Report, para 1.8 31 PFI0014 32 C&AG’s Report, Figure 3 33 C&AG’s Report, para 1.7 34 C&AG’s Report, PFI and PF2, Session 2017–19, HC 718, January 2018, p 5; Committee of Public Accounts, PFI in Housing and Hospitals, Fourteenth Report of Session 2010–11, HC 631, January 2011, p 10 35 C&AG’s Report, para 3.28; Committee of Public Accounts, Private Finance Initiatives, Forty-Sixth Report of Session 2017–19, HC 894, June 2018, p 5 36 Qq 32 and 61 37 C&AG’s Report, 3.28; HM Treasury, Treasury Minutes Progress Report – Update of the Government responses to the Committee of Public Accounts on Sessions 2010–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017- 19, 2019 and 2019–21, CP 424, May 2021, pp 63-64 12 collecting data relating to asset condition and upcoming expiries in order to target and assist local authorities through the contract expiry and asset hand back process.38 38 Q 32 13 3 Contract management and capability Skills and capability