THE SNP has slammed the “eye-watering” £500-million-a-year legacy of the private finance initiative (PFI) in Scotland.

PFI was launched over 30 years ago by John Major’s Tory government in a bid to move borrowing off government balance sheets to meet convergence criteria for joining the euro.

It was enthusiastically adopted under the new name of PPP (public-private partnerships) by Tony Blair’s Labour government, with councils and public bodies across the country being incentivised to use it since. 

On winning power in Scotland, the SNP claimed to have scrapped the practice, replacing it with the non-profit distributing (NPD) model, which limited profits distributed to private investors in public projects to a rate of 5 per cent. 

Since then, the SNP Scottish government has insisted on its use in NHS capital projects, before signing off the biggest PFI deal in Scottish history, £2 billion, at NatureScot in 2023.

Arguing that the £1.142bn in PFI/PPP payments being made this year by councils and the NHS meant “the public continues to pay over the odds for often subpar infrastructure while private businesses profit,” SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson said: “PFI and PPP is impacting every council tax paying household — costing local authorities £544.66m in 2025/26.

“That is why the SNP scrapped PFI after coming to power, but these contracts are still in place — pushing council tax bills up across Scotland.

“To make matters worse, rumours are circulating that Chancellor Rachel Reeves could be set to reintroduce PFI across the UK.

“We know that public finances are stretched as it is, with council tax rates set to rise this year, not least due to the PFI scandal — don’t let Labour make it even worse.”

Scottish Labour was contacted for comment.