Since the 1990s Scotland has been using Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to fund public infrastructure projects. This scheme – in its various forms over the years (PFI, NPD, HUB) – has emulated our throw away culture as it saddles taxpayers with expensive, low quality & short-lived buildings which create unnecessary carbon emissions every time they […]
Public Private Partnerships – a Scottish and International problem
“we resist the public-private partnerships that only serve to extract resources from the public for private interests.” Our Future is Public: Santiago Declaration for Public Services. This is one of the key messages that came out of a conference, ‘Our Future Is Public’, attended by over a thousand campaigners, activists and researchers, from more […]
Kelvingrove Art Gallery – The Mortgaging of Public Buildings by Craig Dalzell
The wake of the Equal Pay scandal in Scottish Local Authorities has resulted – rightly – in significant compensation payments from Councils to the women affected by underpayment over many years. The cost to Glasgow of these settlements has been calculated at £700 million and the Council has decided to raise much this money by […]
Our reaction to the Scottish Budget 2023-2024
Last week we heard a new budget statement from Deputy First Minister John Swinney, here’s a round-up of our reaction to what was said about public services. (Please note this does not examine the statement in chronological order). The Scottish Government priority: more resources at local level Statement from John Swinney: “The Government will invite […]
History RePPPeated 2 – Why Public-Private Partnerships are not the solution
We are proud to feature in a vital report published by Eurodad today where they outline that using public-private partnerships (PPPs) to deliver public services is having a devastating impact on communities and the planet. “History RePPPeated II: Why public-private partnerships are not the solution” features seven in-depth investigations into PPPs across a range of […]