Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) is a government-owned company established in 2008 to improve the planning, funding, and delivery of public infrastructure across Scotland. This briefing examines the SFT today in the context of renewed interest in private financing of public services.
The SFT largely operates under the radar and gets very little external scrutiny. This is inadequate for an organisation spending £9.4m per annum, with some of the highest-salaried positions in the Scottish Government.
A Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is a funding model for public infrastructure projects. It is an umbrella term for schemes such as the UK’s Private Finance Initiative (PFI). It encompasses schemes such as the Hub programme and the Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) model in Scotland. The Tories invented PPP, although the Blair/Brown governments massively expanded it.
Despite the extensive evidence against using private finance, vested interests are pressing the case again, hoping we have forgotten the past. Even the arguments are similar to ‘the only game in town’ refrain we heard in the 1990s. The Scottish finance sector is lobbying for its expansion, and the UK Government is starting to develop new schemes. The public doesn’t want it, and we shouldn’t have to relearn the expensive mistakes of the past. The way forward is public investment, leveraging the government and local authorities’ ability to secure low-cost financing. This includes expanding the Scottish Government’s borrowing powers.