The audit Commission has criticised the quality of schools procured using the PFI.
A report, published yesterday, found that the first wave of PFI schools was "significantly worse" in technical quality than traditionally funded schools.

It concluded: "The current process cannot guarantee, as a matter of course, better quality buildings and services, or lower unit costs."

The report added that there was no evidence that the PFI schools were delivered quicker.

The report also called into question the way councils decide whether or not to procure school using the PFI.

It calls for a reevaluation of the public sector comparator, the method used to assess whether PFI projects will provide better value than traditionally procured ones.

It notes: "The credibility of this way of measuring PFI has been hotly debated … It is time to rethink how value for money is assessed by a more transparent test."