Pilot projects at the Queen’s Hospital in Romford and two Ministry of Defence projects, at Corsham and the Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College, have shown that savings of around 5% a year can be made.
The Efficiency & Reform Group in the Cabinet Office, supported by experts from the Treasury and Local Partnerships, will now lead a programme to seek similar savings across the public sector.
Updated guidance and advice on how savings can be made will be published on the Treasury website to support all PFI contract holders, the government said.
The pilot studies have shown that the three main areas of savings in operational PFI contracts are:
- effective management of contracts, for example reducing energy consumption and through the public sector sharing in savings on insurance
- subletting or mothballing surplus building space
- re-specifying facilities management to reduce the frequency of window cleaning and decoration, for example
Commercial secretary to the Treasury Lord Sassoon said: “We have identified every opportunity to find savings, tackling wasteful practice and gold plating in PFI contracts. The potential savings will vary from contract to contract, but the results are promising and we will support the wider public sector to find savings in complex contracts.”
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
