Absolutely no one will be surprised that UK roads are getting worse. But (good news) they should get better with the latest investment.
1 Like
Last paragraphā¦ āEvery area of England will get extra cash to tackle this problem once and for allā 
Not sure if our shower in Edinburgh will do anything!! 
The roads around my part of North Yorkshire are noticeably better and relatively pot hole free compared to those in neighbouring districts such as Stockton and Cleveland.
Living 12 miles away from Rishi Sunak has itās advantages 
4 Likes
Appears that not all will benefit from the Government money
1 Like
PFIs were always a terrible deal for the public.
4 Likes
Who is ensuring that the money = tarmac?
My understanding is that some of the sums will be withheld by govt until visible results are shownā¦
Indeed. Interestingly, the govt has just found 6 billion to buy a load of houses from a PFI despite having inherited a gigantic black hole and being unable to pay, oh, l donāt know, winter fuel allowance, for argumentās sakeā¦ 
Private Eye had some interesting things to say about PFI a few years agoā¦
1 Like
From what Iāve read, PFI is a way to hide government borrowing. Instead of government borrowing money to fund things, they get private companies to do the borrowing and then sign multi-decade contracts with said private companies for use of the infrastructure or services provided. This wastes money, because the cost of borrowing for private companies is higher than for the government, and they will also get to make a nice profit. But the appeal for politicians and government department bureaucrats is that it looks like they arenāt borrowing money and are keeping to budget.
1 Like
Something similar going on in Cornwall, with high parking charges āin seasonā, until now the council placated locals by giving free parking at many of them from November to Easter. Theyāre now selling off many car parks and will charge all year round.
Could be internet misinformation, but as I understand it these companies are wholly owned by the council. Tried to hide it but it seems theyāve been rumbled, latest excuse, private companies can use ANPR but local councils arenāt allowed.
Trick accountancy, allows distortion of balance sheets. Were l to do this sort of thing, chances are l might find myself before the beak. Not just PFI mind, read this and cogitate on it as you look forward to the roughly 50 per cent rise in your water bill over the next five years. Someone has to pay for upgrading infrastructure, and it sure as hell isnāt going to be the water companies and their shareholdersā¦
Major water company uses accounting trick to inflate balance sheet by Ā£1.68bn - BBC News.
2 Likes
Iād read that previously. Itās outrageous really - doubly so given that itās a public utility company. Unfortunately, it isnāt actually illegal. It walks the line between creative accounting and false accounting.
Edited to add:
As for the state of the roads - itās the reason why adventure bikes are the biggest sellers. You donāt have to use them off-road to take advantage of their off-road abilities.
2 Likes