Five projects have been praised for innovative partnership approaches to improving the quality of life in deprived areas. The projects, in Birmingham, Manchester, Cumbria, East Anglia and Wiltshire have all been nominated as finalists in this year’s Secretary of State Award for Partnerships in Regeneration. 

Analysis of a failed high profile PFI project should provide some lessons for those involved in future projects of the potential pitfalls. The Benefits Payment Card Project was originally planned to automate the paying of social security benefits at the Post Office. A PFI contract was jointly awarded by the Benefits Agency and Post Office Counters Limited to a subsidiary of the ICL computer services group in 1996.