Jubilee Scotland wants to abolish the use of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Scotland.
Jubilee Scotland is campaigning against the use of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in Scotland with the help of our funder Friends Provident Foundation. See our latest updates at the bottom of this page.
Since the 1990s Scotland has been using Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to fund public projects. This scheme – in its various forms over the years (PFI, NPD, Hub) – has left cash-strapped local authorities across Scotland paying millions more than necessary for public projects, providing huge profits for private companies. It has created unjust debt and has added unnecessary pressure to local services across the public sector. The Scottish Government have criticised PPPs but failed to take sufficient action to help councils find viable alternatives.
It is time to end a system where short-term thinking and private profits are draining the public purse. We are calling on the Scottish Government to rethinking Private Financing of Scottish Public Projects.
What Are PPPs?
Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are long-term contracts where the private
sector designs, builds, finances and operates an infrastructure project.
The Issue:
Poor Value for Money.
PPP projects are highly lucrative for the private sector, hidden debt is accumulated for local councils and limited public finances are misused.
Poor service.
PPPs lead to declining service standards: taxpayers’ money is spent on assuring a profit to company shareholders rather than the best possible service for the public.
Lack of accountability.
Details of PPP deals are protected by corporate confidentiality which hinders scrutiny of how corporations use taxpayers’ money.
Unsafe buildings.
In PPP projects infrastructure is built with profit in mind for the investor, rather than quality for the taxpayer.
Proposal document and animation.
Is there an alternative?
In collaboration with our Scotland Against Public Private Partnerships (SAPPP) Task Force, we have drafted a proposal for an alternative to PPPs. It outlines the issues with PPPs, what seems to be hindering progress in the abolishing the failed model and our recommendations for finding a better alternative which puts the public needs of safety, quality, well-being, sustainability and value for money front and centre.
The draft position paper proposes Public Public Partnerships as one avenue to explore. Based on an existing model, this would mean local councils could work with the Scottish Government to maximise their collective powers, playing to their respective strengths in terms of planning and borrowing to ensure public infrastructure is publicly owned. Read our full draft position paper and other documents / articles by clicking the images below or see the links listed beneath.
Proposal paper and articles:
Financing Public Scotland – A Proposal for an Alternative to Public Private Partnerships
The Herald Article – Revealed: The £8.5bn bill for £2.9bn of Scots infrastructure projects
PPPs Hampering Net Zero Ambitions
Public Private Partnerships – A Scottish and International Problem
“We may need private companies to design and build our public infrastructure but this is where their involvement needs to end. They should not own or manage our public assets.”
If you would like further information about our campaign or would like to share your experience of PPPs, please contact mail@jubileescotland.org.uk.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn to keep up to date on our progress and see our Scotland Against Public Private Partnerships campaign page for actions we’ve taken so far.
Latest Updates
Since beginning our campaign we have:
- Built a broad coalition of experts on the PPP issue including think tank representatives, researchers and other experts.
- Developed a detailed policy paper in collaboration which outlines an innovative alternative to PPPs.
- Secured cross party support to host focussed working group meetings at Parliament. The aim is to develop recommendations for the Scottish Government on how to abolish PPPs and instate a better alternative.
- Conducted a public poll of Scottish people to gage their feelings around PPPs. The results indicate that our campaign is very much in step with the views of the majority of the Scottish public, with 67% agreeing that the issue of PPPs was an important or a very important issue to address.
- Submitted a public petition to the Parliamentary Petition Committee, we will launch this in early February alongside a public facing campaign to gain further evidence of public support.
- Collaborated with international allies to further the global campaign against PPPs. Our case study on the Scottish hospital car parking scandal was included in the History RePPPeated II Report and our Executive Director joined the network of allies for the report launch in Chile.
Archive articles
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History RePPPeated 2 – Why Public-Private Partnerships are not the solution
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Nuclear RAB: Another aspect of Johnson’s toxic legacy – Jim Cuthbert
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Responsibility without power: the mark of the mug through the ages. (by Jim Cuthbert)
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Shameless PPProfiteering of Scottish Public Funds: making money from hospital parking during COVID
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Jubilee Scotland’s 2022 Campaign: Scotland Against Public Private Partnerships (SAPPP)
- Find out more here about our Local-National Partnerships, our proposed model to bring an end to PPPs
Thank you to our campaign funder:
