£804 million Leeds investment continues apace despite national skills shortages
April 19, 2006 4:18 PM
Councillor Mark Harris, Executive Board Member for Central and Corporate Services, today hailed the efforts of Council Officers for their work to progress the largest programme of PPP/PFI projects (Public-Private Partnerships and Private Finance Initiatives) in the country. Leeds City Council is currently progressing over £800 million worth of schemes, despite difficulties in recruiting specialised staff to implement the schemes.
Speaking at today's meeting of the Council's Executive Board, Cllr Harris said "Council officers need to be congratulated on their handling of this immense programme. There are huge sums of money involved, and the people involved have done an excellent job in keeping the schemes on track despite a national shortage of people with the skills needed to handle projects like these."
"As a result of their hard work, initiatives such as the £106 million programme to replace and maintain Leeds streetlights, the £113 million social housing programme in Swarcliffe, the £249 million Building Schools for the Future programme, as well as many others, are proceeding well." The PPP/PFI programme in Leeds adds up to a staggering £804 million worth of investment in the city "the like of which has not been seen anywhere else in the country. PFI is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it is the best means available to us to maximise investment for the benefit of the people of Leeds."
Notes to Editors
The Executive Board Progress Report on the PPP/PFI programme in Leeds can be viewed at (page 74) of:
The views in this Press Release are those of the Liberal Democrat Council Group, and not necessarily those of Leeds City Council, its Officers or of the Liberal Democrat Party.
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