PFI/PPP, private sector perspectives of UK transport and healthcare

Public private partnerships (PPP) and the private finance initiative (PFI) are defined as a range of practical long‐standing relationships between the public and private sectors. This paper aims to investigate managers’ perceptions of PPP/PFI in two of the three largest sectors for private sector capital‐spend in PPP/PFI schemes, namely transport (highway infrastructure) and healthcare.

A web‐based Limesurvey™ questionnaire was used to collect data. A sample of 75 organisations was identified from the Partnerships UK (PUK) online Project Database (Partnerships UK, 2010). Total of 49 responses were received, of which 39 were complete.

Results from each sector relating to PPP/PFI “best value”, advantages and disadvantages, and government preferred procurement routes, are investigated. The majority of organisations did not consider that PPP/PFI provided “best value” but thought it provided more value than the other two UK Government preferred procurement routes, “design and build” and “prime contracting”.

This questions the UK Government's choice of preferred procurement routes. However, even during a recession and its aftermath, the majority of respondents consider that PPP/PFI remains appropriate to healthcare and transport developments.

Firstly, this paper carries out a ranking of common advantages and disadvantages to PFI/PPP followed by an investigation of “best value” as perceived by contractors and consultants subsequent to the construction phase. Then the three preferred UK Government procurement routes are contrasted in terms of “best value” and finally the paper investigates how PPP/PFI schemes are viewed during recessionary times.