The Isle of Wight council distributed the following statement earlier today after Chancellor George Osborne said he has announced a “fundamental reassessment” of the use of PFI. It’s in the council’s words – Ed.
Councillor Edward Giles, Isle of Wight Council cabinet member responsible for highways said “We have spoken to government this morning and can confirm that schemes currently in procurement – such as ours – are unaffected by this announcement. As a result, work on the scheme continues.
“Been liaising closely with Government”
“The Island Highways PFI scheme was re-assessed and approved by the Treasury in October last year. Since then, we have been liaising closely with government and the potential scheme partners to ensure the project continues to offer excellent value for money for all taxpayers. We will, in accordance with the PFI process, be expected to demonstrate this value for money before financial close.
“The state of the Island’s highways network is regularly highlighted by residents as an issue of major concern. Anyone familiar with Island roads will be very aware of the need to dramatically improve them. The highways PFI will bring, in the form of government grant, the required multi-million inward investment required to at last bring the network up to unprecedented standards. Overall, the scheme will generate around £800 million for the Island’s economy. I am sure most people welcome that particularly in these difficult economic times.”
Image: memnativ under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license
