£2,620 MILLION - AND COUNTING - SPENT REPAYING LABOUR’S DEBTS Kenneth Gibson MSP has called on Labour to apologise for the toxic Private Finance Initiative (PFI) legacy that they bequeathed our NHS, which continues to be drained of vital funds as a result of Labour’s mismanagement over a decade ago. Health boards have been forced to shell out an eye-watering £2,620 million for projects initiated by the previous Labour/Lib Dem administration, despite the capital value of the projects only totalling £1,230 million. Annual PFI payments, which last 30 years, are draining over £243 million from our NHS this year alone. Costs continue to rise year on year at key sites such as Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Wishaw General Hospital, taking vital funds away from frontline health and social care. Commenting, Kenneth Gibson MSP said: “Labour’s toxic PFI legacy continues to cost our NHS dearly. “For our NHS to have paid £2,620 million for the previous Labour/Lib Dem administration’s mismanagement of our public finances is shameful, and it’s high time they apologised for the debt they’ve saddled us all with. “Health boards continue to shell out over £20 million each month, taking vital funds and resources away from frontline health and social care where it could be put to much better use than paying private firms who have already received a 100% return. “We’ve already had to pay more than double the capital value for the projects that Labour championed when in office, with the bills set to rise further still. “These toxic PFI deals simply prove why we can’t trust Labour and the Lib Dems with our public finances ever again.” Full data is available here.
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