The study by Jim and Margaret Cuthbert, who have advised the World Bank and the OECD on public sector finance, disputes the Scottish government’s claims that the Scottish Futures Trust is efficient. The SFT is a quango that runs Scotland’s equivalent of the private finance initiative – a funding method for public projects that became widespread under the Blair and Brown governments. The Cuthberts say the Scottish government’s claims need to be checked independently and point out that until now there has been no effective scrutiny or evaluation of these projects’ value for money. It says there is evidence that the SFT gave private lenders generous deals, paying them interest at rates much higher than the Treasury’s lender for public sector projects, the Public Works Loan Board. The SFT “enable[s] investment in public projects in Scotland to be brought forward more quickly than would otherwise be available through our capital allocation and limited borrowing powers”, a spokeswoman said.

Source: The Guardian October 18, 2017 11:18 UTC