Written question asked by Matthew Green (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 16 March 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 22 March 2005. It was answered by Keith Hill (Labour) on Tuesday, 22 March 2005 on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Question: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on his decision to withdraw support from the Private Finance Initiative scheme to bring part of the council housing stock in the London Borough of Camden up to the Decent Homes Standard.

Answer: Matthew Green: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his decision to withdraw support from the private finance initiative scheme to bring part of the council housing stock in the London borough of Camden up to the Decent Homes Standard. [223285] Keith Hill: The reasons for the decision was a lack of confidence that there was effective management of costs or timetable and that the project did not represent value for money. The evidence was: substantial overrun in the procurement timetable four-fold increase in the funding requirement (£119 million in PFI credits in 2005 up from £30 million in 2000) a large part of the negotiations were with a single bidder the possibility of further cost increases contract signature. The project still has an allocation of £55 million PFI funding available. Officials in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are working with Camden on the way forward.

Secondary information