BSA: The proof of the contract is in service delivery

Thursday, 26, Apr 2007 12:00

The 2007 BSA / KPMG of operational PFI projects, published today, confirms overwhelmingly the value of the inclusion of soft services within PFI projects, claims BSA Director-General Norman Rose.

‘This is a welcome finding in the face of ongoing doubts within government and the trades unions,’ he says.

‘In any services project, end user satisfaction is paramount and the survey reveals that more than 80% of the service providers questioned undertake regular user satisfaction surveys. These show that over 90% of those surveyed are more than satisfied that services are being delivered to an acceptable standard.

‘The survey as a whole presents a positive picture of the success of PFI projects but this is not a reason for complacency. A number of contracts face challenges around profitability, performance and user satisfaction, but this goes to demonstrate that the PFI contract itself is working properly and that PFI is never a ‘soft touch’ for the private sector contractors.

‘The survey’s findings demonstrate clearly that PFI is indeed delivering good value for money to the taxpayer and a high quality of services to the end user.’

Ends

Copies of the survey report are available on request

Note to Editors:

The Business Services Association is a policy group of major companies providing outsourced services to companies, public bodies, local authorities and government departments and agencies. The combined annual turnover in the United Kingdom of its 19 member companies is in excess of £23 billion. Member companies employ directly and indirectly more than 650,000 people, many of them at blue-collar level.