Councils and their private sector partners are to get more help with Public Finance Initiative projects. Government support for projects, (PFI credits) is to be doubled and development procedures will be streamlined. The measures are aimed at removing the twin disincentives where local authorities incurred development costs with no assurance of revenue support and potential partners had to bid for projects uncertain of whether there would be any Government support. The Local Government (Contracts) Bill will shortly receive Royal Assent and this will also help by removing private sector concerns about the powers of local authorities to enter into PFI deals.Local Government Minister Hilary Armstrong said: “We have swept away the barriers to successful PFI projects and partnerships in local government, as we said we would. Authorities and the private sector can now use the opportunities PFI provides to remedy investment backlogs in schools, transport systems, police, fire, waste and other services. Every authority should now consider how they can use public/private partnerships and the PFI to benefit their own areas.”

Read more on Local PFI deals get help…