Private finance initiative
The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 1992 by Prime Minister John Major, and expanded considerably by the Blair government, PFI is part of the wider programme of privatisation and financialisation, and presented as a means for increasing accountability and efficiency for public spending.
Cumberland Infirmary, one of the first projects funded using the PFI
Sign on the door of Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
George Osborne
University Hospital Coventry
Public–private partnership
A public–private partnership is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions. Typically, it involves private capital financing government projects and services up-front, and then drawing revenues from taxpayers and/or users for profit over the course of the PPP contract. Public–private partnerships have been implemented in multiple countries and are primarily used for infrastructure projects. Although they are not compulsory, PPPs have been employed for building, equipping, operating and maintaining schools, hospitals, transport systems, and water and sewerage systems.
Gavin Newsom hosts a meeting for employers about public-private partnerships. (13 November 2019)
Protest in France against encroaching privatization and the introduction of profit-seeking practices in the public sector. (22 March 2018)
Second Toll Gate on Yonge Street in 1886
During his first term in office, Tony Blair made public-private partnerships the norm for government procurement projects in the United Kingdom.