Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 30
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
One of the underlying principles of the PFI model was its design to be self-monitoring, with the project delivery company responsible for reviewing its own performance and reporting back to the contracting authority. But this self-monitoring should not preclude authorities from having appropriate access to data and information to support their own monitoring of projects to ensure that contractual obligations are being met.70 We asked NISTA what it was doing to support public authorities with contract management. NISTA told us about issues with schools in Stoke-on-Trent, where the conditions of assets were not acceptable, but NISTA managed to work with the private delivery partner to secure 64 Q 60 65 Q 54 66 C&AG’s Report, para 4.19 67 Q 32; C&AG’s Report, para 4.21 68 Q 56; C&AG’s Report, para 4.20 69 Qq 3 and 73 70 Qq 60 and 68; C&AG’s Report, para 4.7 18 a £30 million asset improvement fund.71 Additionally, the Treasury and NISTA committed to acting on the lessons learned including, a commitment to ensuring that construction is monitored by a clerk of works and independently certified.72 71 Q 73 72 Q 49 19
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.