This briefing by Jubilee Debt Campaign sets out the major problems and risks the UK has encountered through its extensive experiment with PPPs, including how they have:

Cost the government more than if it had funded the public infrastructure by borrowing money itself
Led to large windfall gains for the private companies involved, at public expense
Enabled tax avoidance through offshore ownership
Led to declining service standards and staffing levels
Hollowed out state capacity to design, build, finance and operate infrastructure
Eroded democratic accountability
PPPs are hugely unpopular in the UK, which has led to PFI being rebranded in both England and Scotland, and the number and value of new projects falling since 2008, reaching its lowest level since the mid-1990s in 2014 (the latest year with figures available).

However, the UK government and companies are now heavily promoting PPPs around the world. In recent years, more than 90 countries around the world have passed laws relating to or enabling PPPs to be taken on.

This briefing sets out the real story of PPPs in the UK, with the hope of better informing interested and affected parties in other countries around the risks and costs involved in PPPs.