It's time for the "Carillion model" - in which profits are taken by the company and risks are borne by taxpayers and workers - to stop
Parliament today discussed the collapse of Carillion, and Green MSP Patrick Harvie urged Scottish Ministers to look more broadly at the risks to the public finances associated with the outsourcing model, which is common to both PFI and the Scottish Government's NPD model for procuring large public projects.
As long ago as 2016, Audit Scotland decided to examine the NPD model following a ruling that almost a billion pounds worth of contracts breached EU rules, but this inquiry will not start until later this year.
Green MSP Patrick Harvie said:
"It's vital to look at the short-term consequences of the collapse of Carillion for Scottish projects, to make sure the staff are paid, and public services continue to be delivered. However, we also need to look carefully at any risks other similar projects may face, projects being delivered by other such companies, some of whom have seen their share price come under pressure this week for obvious reasons.
"Yet again we see what these outsourced models mean: the profits - and the bonuses - are taken by the company, and the risks are borne by taxpayers and workers. This has to stop. I hope that Audit Scotland will widen their investigation, and look very carefully at the Scottish Government's version of the failed PFI model for public projects. We need to establish exactly what the implications are in terms of value for money and risks to public sector projects."