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NEWS
THE SENTINEL Wednesday November 16, 2011
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Action call on fuel prices CHANCELLOR George Osborne is under pressure from the Commons to hold down fuel prices. MPs called on the Government to scrap planned fuel duty rises and backed a motion calling for a new price stabilisation mechanism. It was debated in the Commons after an e-petition calling for action on fuel prices drew more than 100,000 signatures. The motion, passed by MPs without a vote, comes before this month’s Autumn Statement when Mr Osborne will outline the state of the economy. It has been reported that ministers are reconsidering a 3p duty hike pencilled in for January.
‘I’m not a rogue’ - Clark THE former head of the UK Border Force has accused the Home Secretary of destroying his reputation and insisted that he was ‘no rogue officer’. Brodie Clark, who quit his 40-year career in the Home Office last week amid the border checks row, criticised Theresa May’s actions as he told MPs that he did not extend or alter her pilot scheme of riskbased checks at the border in any way.
New St Paul’s legal move THE City of London Corporation has relaunched legal action against the anticapitalist protesters camped outside St Paul’s Cathedral. The corporation previously offered to give the protesters until the new year to leave the site. Stuart Fraser, policy chairman at the corporation, said: “We paused legal action for talks on how to shrink the extent of the tents and set a departure date – but got nowhere. Now they have rejected an offer to let them stay until the new year, it’s got to be the courts.”
SEN-eO1-S2 [P]
Projects may be worth a quarter of sum footed by taxpayers
The £6bn cost of ‘pay later’ deals BY ALEX CAMPBELL alex.campbell@thesentinel.co.uk
TAXPAYERS in Staffordshire and Cheshire face a £6 billion bill for privately-funded schemes which may be worth just a quarter of the sum if funded up front. Private Finance Initiatives (PFI) in the region include the new £400 million ‘superhospital’ and pioneering community fire stations to replace dated bases across Staffordshire. Government estimates show 18 PFIs in the counties will deliver buildings with a capital value of £1.5 billion. But the eventual cost to the public purse could hit £6 billion over the PFI lifespan, usually 25 to 30 years. The Government yesterday announced plans to review and reform the way major projects are financed after criticism of PFIs. The deals pass on the cost of major public sector building projects to private enterprises but result in expensive long-term payback plans. Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is building new fire stations across the county under two PFIs. New figures show 10 new stations built under the first scheme, including Rising Brook, Sandyford, Uttoxeter, Hanley, Burslem and Kidsgrove, would have cost the service about £50 million
COSTLY: The new fire station in Burslem, and, below, the city’s ‘superhospital’. up front. But the PFI deal ties the service into a 25-year plan which will result in a total bill of more than £70 million. A second £50 million PFI scheme will see more new stations, including in Leek, Stone, and Longton, but payback figures are not yet known. PFI programme director, Steve Knight said: “The project has allowed us to rebuild stations that were no longer fit for purpose. “Using PFI enables the service to control maintenance costs and ensure stations remain fit for purpose for the 25-year managed period and beyond. “The new community fire stations are proving extremely successful and have allowed us to take community engagement to a whole new level.”
Critics question whether PFI offers value for money PRIVATE finance initiatives were the brainchild of Tory peer Lord Lamont, but this has not stopped the arrangements coming in for intense criticism by the coalition Government. Chancellor George Osborne stated yesterday: “We have consistently voiced concerns about the misuse of PFI in the past and we have already taken steps to reduce costs and improve transparency.” The Treasury has announced a review of the way major public sector projects are financed. Both the National Audit Office and the Treasury Committee have stated that the rising cost of financing public sector debt indicates that PFI does not represent value for taxpayers’ money. PFI involves private enterprises and consortiums signing an agreement to finance, build and run facilities. It has delivered a £400 million superhospital for North Staffordshire, hi-tech community fire stations across the county and will provide three retirement villages in Stoke-on-Trent from 2014. But critics object to the long-term payback plans which see taxpayers pick up the bill for interest and some operating costs – resulting in a total bill which often dwarfs the up-front value of the projects. PFI was introduced under John Major’s Government but was expanded dramatically under Labour. About 800 PFI contracts are now in operation nationally with a capital value of around £64 billion. But about £267 billion in repayments are due to be made to private companies over the next 50 years. Treasury committee members have called for private investors in lucrative deals to offer voluntary rebates to help tackle the national debt crisis. PFI plans, including Staffordshire Fire’s station rebuild project and Stokeon-Trent City Council’s plan for three retirement villages, were temporarily suspended by the coalition Government as part of a national review into their value for money.
PFI also funded the new University Hospital of North Staffordshire. The local NHS must pay around £54 million a year for 30 years to private companies for building and maintaining the hospital, but the bill also includes running non-clinical services such as catering, cleaning and portering. Stoke-on-Trent City Council is inviting bidders for a £108 million, Government-funded PFI to build and run three retirement villages. It will take on ownership and control of the sites after 25 years. Tristram Hunt, Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, backed the national review. He said: “It has led to the first new hospital in North Staffordshire for 140 years which is something we’re all celebrating at the moment. “However, there is no doubt that some of the contracts were not negotiated as effectively as possible and the mortgage on them is too high. “I welcome the review and hope some of the contracts can be renegotiated to deliver better value for money.”
What do you think? Email us at letters@thesentinel.co.uk Fire station approval: Page 19
MPs in plea over cheques MPs kept up the pressure for the return of cheque guarantee cards by suggesting that the Government could consider stepping in with legislation. The Payments Council, whose members include Britain’s biggest banks, abandoned the cheque guarantee card in late June due to declining use before reneging on plans to end the use of cheques altogether. It will publish research into the impact of the closure of the cheque card guarantee scheme, which will be concluded before the end of the year.
National Lottery Yesterday’s EuroMillions: 47, 17, 22, 06 and 45. The Lucky Stars were 03 and 11. Millionare Raffle Selection: RTS 334636 Lotto Plus 5: 16, 28, 32, 33, 36 and 43. The bonus ball was: 39.
Weather
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FRIDAY A largely cloudy but dull day, with the risk of a few spots of rain. max 13C (55F) min 8C (46F)
10
7
Yesterday’s weather
Outlook
11
11
SATURDAY 6
7
10
11
11
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The region tonight
The region tomorrow
Cloud will quickly spread in from the west during the evening, with patchy light rain or drizzle at times later in the night. Light to moderate southeasterly winds. Min temp 6-9C (43-48F).
Overcast to start the day, but the cloud should quickly break allowing some sunny spells into the afternoon. Becoming breezy later. Moderate southerly winds. Max temp 9-12C (48-54F).
Another dull and overcast day, with some patchy drizzle at times. max 12C (54F)
min 7C (45F)
SUNDAY Cloudy with little in the way of brightness, but it should be dry. max 12C (54F) min 8C (46F)
Fair 10 Fair 9 Cloudy 10 Fair 11 Sunny 8 Rain 10 Fair 9 Sunny 11 Cloudy 8 Sunny 12 Cloudy 10 Cloudy 9
ºF 50 48 50 52 46 50 48 52 46 54 50 48
ºC Athens Barcelona Cape Town Istanbul Malaga Moscow New Delhi New York Paris Stockholm Sydney Tenerife
Drizzle 11 Rain 15 Sunny 22 Shwrs 10 Cloudy 19 Cloudy -2 Fair 26 Cloudy 17 Cloudy 5 Sunny 6 Sunny 26 Sunny 22
ºF 52 59 72 50 66 28 79 63 41 43 79 72
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