20th May 2008
STUC Deputy General Secretary Dave Moxham said:
“We will analyse this announcement in detail over the next few days. We do recognise that the Scottish Government is making efforts to minimise the private sector influence on some aspects of the proposed SFT and its mechanisms for operation. We also note that part of the new function will be to monitor existing PFI/PPP schemes to identify potential savings – we hope that this reflects a bullish attitude to the review of existing PPPs/PFIs.
“The chief concern of the STUC is that in creating two separate bodies, first SFT Delivery and Development and then SFT Finance and Investment, the Scottish Government is delaying rather than solving a key problem. Namely that its chosen vehicle for the provision of finance and investment will be a separate private sector classified entity in which SFT D&D has a minority share and in which the private sector will have the major influence and through which large-scale private finance will be sought. STUC continues to doubt that a super-sized trust can display the necessary public sector ethos and whether it will be able to borrow from the Private Sector at significantly lower rates.
“There is also still a presumption that new projects will include the transferring of staff away from direct public sector employment and this is something we obviously oppose.
“Clearly the Scottish Government is limited by the powers it holds and by the UK Treasury’s borrowing rules. However the simple fact is that private sector borrowing is more expensive for the tax-payer. The short-term priority must be to establish a level playing field so that public bodies can use traditional funding mechanisms to their maximum potential; to review existing PPPs/PFIs to establish where price review clauses can establish savings; and to explore the constitutional implications of extending prudential borrowing to health boards as well as the extension of borrowing powers to the Scottish Parliament.”