Twenty Years on: The Impact and Legacy of the Private Finance Initiative in UK Schools

Abstract

Between 1998 and 2010 public private partnership models, of which the private finance initiative (PFI) was the best-known and most widely used, became the favoured option to procure school buildings and facilities in the UK. This article looks at the multifaceted legacy of PFI from a threefold perspective: financial, educational and architectural. It highlights the long-term effects of those schemes on schools and local authorities and the challenges arising from the burden of the debt and the nature of the contracts. Positive changes have been observed over time, but also a growing financialisation of school projects which has deepened an already sharp divide between the different stakeholders. Financial value has been prioritised over educational value in the management of contracts, while the procurement and construction method has had a clear impact on the quality of school buildings. Twenty years on, the PFI experience in education shows the persistent flaws of a system in which public authorities cannot fully exercise control over projects but have retained responsibility for the provision of quality learning environments.