Panorama BBC1 8.30 tonight

[Jonone]

As Government spending cuts bite, one group of businessmen know they will keep making vast profits from our taxes while getting us ever deeper into debt. Since 1997 almost every new school and hospital in the UK has been built by private companies who lease them back to the government. But what's in it for the taxpayer?

John Ware investigates the inflexible terms and conditions of what has become the government's flexible friend - the Private Finance Initiative - a kind of ministerial credit card which racks up huge public debts without showing on the nation's balance sheet. He uncovers evidence of how government claims that PFI gives taxpayers value for money have been manipulated.

And he asks why the coalition government signed so many PFI deals when in opposition both the prime minister and his deputy branded them as 'dodgy accounting'.

[jimslip]

I believe that this scam is yet another New Labour, "Big idea" which is going to cost us all ?Billions for years to come. They've also done it with hospitals. I suspect if you turned a few stones you'd find Blair & Co have made a few pennies out of the idea as well. Why can't any government ever enter into a contract that actually benefits the taxpayer? Could it be because it's never their own money they are squandering?

[Von Boy]

Yep you're right Jonone... PFi (Private finance initiative) was started by the Tories in the early 90's and massively expanded under the Labour government... they ran away with the idea that it was a never ending way to get things done...

Out of interest there are two hospitals in England that will in 2016 come to the end of there 25 year lease... the private company that "owns"the property can almost double the rent payable by the hospital... OR the NHS will have to close it down and move to another building... which is near on in possible....

Lots of schools also in England finish there 25 year leases by 2017/18... I wonder what will happen then???

All good things for the hard working British tax payer to look forward to...

(when Gordon stood at the dispatch box presenting his budgets...oh did the public cheer he was wonderful... money for everyone and no hardship)

[David Johnson]

First of all James, this is a John Major spiffing "Big Idea".

I suspect the reason why Blair and co went for Major's "Big Idea" was that they had been going on and on about financial prudence for years prior to the 97 election in order to keep the electorate and scum like Murdoch onboard. So when they wanted to rebuild the NHS and school infrastructure which the Tories had left in a right mess then the way they came up with to massage the books was PFI.

Yet despite slagging PFI off endlessly whilst in opposition, George Osborne has authorised 61 PFI projects at a cost of ?7 billion since coming to power.

http://www.channel4.com/news/coalition- ... fi-schemes

CHeers
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[Von Boy]

Yes PFi is here to stay for the UK tax payer... and its the next generations plus that's going to have all the problems to sort out in the UK.... now where's my my skis... its started snowing here!

[jimslip]

I stand corrected, if then it was a Tory idea, why on Earth didn't those
paragons of virtue and common sense, New Labour, review the contracts, so as they would be more beneficial to the tax payer?

Again it proves that when it actually comes to the crunch both parties are full of SHIT and will NEVER impede BIG BUSINESS in its quest for bigger and bigger profit. Business is sacrosanct and both parties genuflect at the alter of greed!

Look at the contracts with the banks, for ?Billions of our money, surely some stupid cunt lawyer might have written in clauses reviewing bonuses etc? No of course they didn't, the contracts the banks signed were less complex than those YOU would sign to get a loan for a car.

You'd expect this kind of shit from the Tories, but not from New Labour, the Friend of the Working Man, who would never allow his hard earned taxes to be recklessly squandered on bailing out greedy, crooked, banks!

It beggars belief that we allow either of this bunch of fools to run this country!