Scottish Futures Trust defended by Grossart

Business Correspondent/Personal Finance Editor

Thursday 12 July 2012

SCOTTISH Futures Trust (SFT) chiefs have defended the record of the body as it reported cumulative savings to the public sector of £370 million in its four-year life.

SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES: Sir Angus Grossart said the Scottish Futures Trust had demonstrated progress. Picture: Gordon Terris

Custom byline text:

simon bain

Veteran banker Sir Angus Grossart, who chairs the trust, and its £175,000-a-year chief executive Barry White also hit back at criticisms that the SFT has taken too long to deliver, and has excluded Scottish contractors from major contract awards.

Sir Angus said private sector profit from public infrastructure was "scrutinised and capped in a way that didn't occur in the past" under the Private Finance Initiative. He said the new Non Profit Distributing model (NPD) was "a disciplined approach to procurement and the management of financial risk" and was now being studied by the new Infrastructure UK south of the Border.He added: "It was only after we had been established for 15 to 18 months that they decided to have a similar body, but their structure is rather different – we are operationally independent, they seem to sit within the Treasury framework. Because we are new and not part of a department, we are encouraged to innovate."Sir Angus said diplomatic engagement with local authorities, central government and other agencies had become "comprehensive cooperation", and the SFT had now been formally charged with prompting £500m of savings over five years from the management of state-owned property assets. Mr White said Scottish public office space averaged 15 square metres per employee, and could be squeezed to 10 square metres or less with little impact – the private sector average was even lower – with Glasgow and Dundee having already taken a lead. He said there was now "a huge willingness to do this, because of flat budgets and budgets going down".On criticism that the Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) programme had promised a lot but so far delivered little, Mr White said there were now seven pilot projects at varying stages, adding: "Our plans envisage a nine to ten-year period."On the frustrations of the construction industry at delayed programmes, he said: "Scotland is definitely doing more than other areas outside London, and the industry is aware of that."On claims that the major 'hub' project awards had favoured non-Scottish contractors, Mr White said they all featured major Scottish businesses or firms with "a long-term presence in Scotland", all of whom had "a very strong offering in terms of local employment".He admitted: "Under European law we can't specify that, but we can do an awful lot to shape it."The SFT said a major contributor to its estimated £131m of benefits and savings in 2011-12 was its management of the £1.25bn Schools for the Future programme to deliver 67 schools instead of 55. The trust was currently leading a £3bn programme of additional public investment, including £750m of NPD contracts which would rise to £1.2bn this year and then double by 2015. The TIF projects would attract £500m from the public sector and eventually leverage £2.5bn of long-term private investment. The National Housing Trust had completed its first homes and this year should see over 1000 homes under construction – "homes that would not otherwise have been built".Sir Angus said: "Our independence is important, also the fact we are not relying on outside consultants. "The SFT has demonstrated significant progress in times of economic challenge."

Contextual targeting label:

Finance

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Scottish Futures Trust defended by Grossart

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED