Public sector union steps up campaign to get procurement route scrapped.

Unison has stepped up its campaign to get the Government to scrap PFI by releasing a report that claims the policy is “built on sand”.

Some 677 PFI projects have been approved since 1992 and the Treasury claims that 88% of PFI schemes are delivered on time, compared with 70% of non-PFI projects that are delivered late.

Unison says five research studies about the cost and overrun data of PFI projects are flawed and therefore not credible.

Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison said: “This report knocks out another of the Government’s chief arguments for its continued use, namely that it generates value for money by improving the efficiency of construction procurement.”

“This false argument has not only been used to promote PFI schemes in the UK but also export PFI across the world,” he added.