There have been hints this week that billions of pounds of government borrowing could be spent on new infrastructure projects because of new self-imposed Treasury rules. The Treasury effectively confirmed it will loosen the long-standing self-imposed target on cutting debt to borrow billions more to invest in a range of major projects. It is hoped that the introduction of ‘experts’ to vet unfunded spending will avoid the kind of market melt down seen during the Liz Truss era. Apparently, the experts will be known as ‘guardrails’ and the initiative is part of a plan to encourage the private sector to invest in British projects. The guardrails it is claimed will determine the quality of government borrowing for investment.
Does this all sound vaguely familiar to the smoke and mirrors accounting that surrounded the PFI in the 1990’s ?
Duncan Cartlidge FRICS
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