Last updated – 28 May 2020

Introduction to the topic

This online publication provides results of a survey we conducted with public sector authorities (authorities) and which forms part of the evidence base of the NAO’s report on Managing PFI assets and services as contracts end.

This report provides information on how public authorities manage public finance initiative (PFI) contracts as they come to an end and considers whether government is making appropriate preparations to manage the expiry of PFI contracts.

We conducted this survey in 2019 and targeted English authorities with PFI contracts which have ended or will come to an end over the next seven years.

We have identified these authorities from HM Treasury’s 2018 PFI database which is produced by the Infrastructure Projects Authority. The total survey population includes 107 out of the 571 English PFI contracts, and of the 107 contracts surveyed, 89 PFI contracts were still operational at the time the survey was conducted, and 18 had expired. We received 75 out of 107 responses.

The survey population is predominantly made up of public sector infrastructure and capital equipment projects, such as roads, hospitals and schools.

The survey questions focus on the following areas:

  • The authorities’ current and intended future use of the assets and services
  • The authorities’ knowledge of the asset and their ongoing monitoring activities
  • The authorities’ resources and capability
  • Contractual provisions in relation to the hand back process

Instructions

  • We split the survey questions into 8 categories (e.g. Use of Assets, Disputes, …) which are displayed in the menu bar below.
  • Select a category and the corresponding survey responses will be displayed in the area below the menu bar
  • The footnote to each survey question provides additional details on the responses as well as a the reference used in the our report on ‘Managing PFI assets and services as contracts end’ (e.g. Survey Question X.)

Visualisation

If you’re having trouble viewing the visualisation on this page, or viewing it on a mobile device, here is a direct link to the visualisation.

Alternatively, if you cannot access the data in the visualisation, the raw data is provided below as an Excel file:

Raw data file (.XLSX)

If you are still having problems, contact us.

More information

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does this data come from?

The data in the visualisation is based on a survey conducted by National Audit Office and analysis of HM Treasury’s PFI database (2018).

Why has the NAO published this data?

This visualisation has been released as a supplementary output to our report on Managing PFI assets and services as contracts end.

Why does the data cover only England?

The National Audit Office report covers only the private finance initiative in England excluding those for which devolved governments are responsible.

Where can I find out more about PFIs in England?

Visit www.nao.org.uk/search/PFI/ and Appendix Three in the report Managing PFI assets and services as contracts end to find out more about NAO’s prior PFI reports.

My question is not answered here, where can I get more information?

Phone the NAO Enquiries point +44 (0)20 7798 7264.

Alternatively, you can email general enquiries to enquiries@nao.org.uk or use our online contact form.