At our report launch last month, one of our key speakers was Helen Mercer, whose expertise on Private Finance Initiative schemes made a huge contribution to our research. She talked to us about how we got into this mess and why this is a systemic problem caused by our governments, that can only be solved […]
We are so grateful that we were able to have Dexter Whitfield with us last month at the launch of our report, ‘Rethinking Private Financing’. The influence of his research can be seen all throughout it so it is an honour to be able to have one of the leading experts of this area come […]
The launch of our report Last month at the Scottish Parliament we launched our report ‘Rethinking Private Financing’, the culmination of work from Jubilee Scotland over the past year researching PPP & PFI schemes. You can download and read it here. The launch was hosted by Neil Findlay MSP, who spoke to us about how […]
In the midst of a windy day on the 29th of January 2016, the side of Oxgangs School in Edinburgh collapsed. A large section of the gable wall came crashing down with nine tonnes of bricks falling across the path below. An independent report concluded that it was “a matter of timing and luck” that […]
This article has been written by Dexter Whitfield, director of the European Services Strategy Unit as an accompaniment to his new book, which will have a launch in Edinburgh later this month. The new book Public Alternative to the Privatisation of Life sets out the scale, cost and impact of different forms of privatisation and encompasses […]
How much would you pay someone to put up a Christmas tree? We took to the streets of Edinburgh this week to ask people this to demonstrate the disproportionate costs that come with Private Finance Initiatives. Under a complex and unfair PFI contract, Alistair Darling had to pay £900 for the UK Treasury’s Xmas tree. This […]
Lessons from a failed system Our schools are collapsing, hospitals are being failed and yet there’s more money being spent on them than ever, with nobody around to be held accountable. That’s the situation that our country has found itself in after years of contracts forged by Public Private Partnerships. Our infrastructure is costing taxpayers […]
This article is written by Emma Saunders for Jubilee Scotland. It is an introduction to her thesis ‘Harvesting Debt: Hub South-East Scotland, Austerity and Public Procurement’ which explores the topic further. Emma was studying MSc by Research in Human Geography at the University of Edinburgh and has since completed this. ————————————————————————————————————————————— On the 21st of November, two weeks […]
This week’s Economist says something puzzling: The middling poor, those on $2 a day, are pulling children from school and cutting back on vegetables so they can still afford rice. Those on $1 a day are cutting back on meat, vegetables and one or two meals, so they can afford one bowl. The desperate—those on […]