PFI Expiry Programme Update - Gemma Legard & Dan Rudley, Department for Education

The DfE will be providing an update on their PFI Expiry Programme following its successful introduction at last year’s Education Estates conference. The DfE Expiry Unit offers support to all local authorities, and by extension the schools and Academies, approaching expiry. Their goal is the help responsible bodies optimise the condition of their assets at expiry and minimise value leakage, by holding private sector partners to account through the fulfilment of their contractual obligations. In this presentation you will hear how the first 21 education deals are progressing towards expiry, and the key themes and lessons learnt to date.

Is the Education sector ready to take back their PFI Assets? - Phil Bishop, Director of Property, Capita

Over the next decade around 200 PFI contracts will end, meaning that many education buildings will revert back to the public sector, transferring the responsibility for all ongoing safety, maintenance, and repairs.

Educational buildings will need to be returned to the public sector in safe, well-maintained condition from the PFI provider once the contract expires.

The presentation looks at the challenges of contract expiry and what steps schools and academies can take to be assured that adequate lifecycle investment has been applied to school infrastructure by the PFI provider and that property assets are handed back in a compliant standard to avoid financial and health and safety issues in the future for the sector.