Assembly Committee urges Ministers to re-think position on private finance.
The National Assembly for Wales’ Finance Committee is calling on the Welsh Assembly Government to embrace the use of public-private partnerships in a bid to improve public services in Wales.
Members say that there are now more cost effective models available than the often criticised Private Finance Initiative.
The Committee also wants the Welsh Assembly Government to explore with colleagues in Westminster the possibility of extending the power to borrow to Welsh Ministers.
“The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approach has developed over time,’’ said Committee Chair, Angela Burns AM.
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“There are now a number of models which enable the public sector to access the increased funding for the delivery of public services in a balanced way and at a reasonable cost, whilst still allowing the private sector to make an acceptable profit.”
The committee members chose Cadwyn Housing Association’s Nightingale House, in Cardiff, to launch the report because Cadwyn claim that it is a PPP that has actually saved the tax payer money.
Cardiff Council were housing many homeless families in Bed & Breakfast accommodation, at market price, before Cadwyn’s facility was built.
But the rent they now pay Cadwyn to is a lot less than those private B&Bs. The added advantage to residents is that Nightingale House gives them access to support, training and activities that will make a real difference to their lives.
The project, In Newport Road, was funded by a £2.093million Social Housing Grant plus a £600,000 bank loan. Affordable housing built by housing associations usually involves a higher proportion of borrowing, but this is a special facility that needed more grant.
“Since we opened in 2005, we’ve housed more than 300 families in desperate need of a roof over their head, as well as providing the support to tackle some of the problems that led them to becoming homeless in the first place,’’ said Cadwyn Chief Executive, Chris O’Meara.
“And we simply wouldn’t have been able to do this without the help of private finance.”
The other major recommendation in this report is that the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) explores the possibility of borrowing.
“The Committee believes that WAG should explore the possibility that borrowing powers available to local authorities should be extended to other public bodies,’’ the Committee Chair added.
“The Committee also recommends that WAG explores with the UK government the possibility of extending the power to borrow for capital investment to the Welsh ministers themselves.”