Brockley PFI criticised by NAO

Lewisham Council has been criticised in a report by the National Audit Office for allowing the cost of the Brockley PFI scheme to improve the area's Council-owned housing stock to spiral out of control.

The Evening Standard reports that the Brockley scheme is one of six to be singled out, after the cost rose from £44.6 million to £115.91 million.

The Standard quotes a Lewisham spokesperson as saying:

“The change in cost was required because many of the properties in the Brockley PFI area required a high level of investment.”

Which is a pretty flimsy explanation, given that the condition of the stock would be one of the fundamental issues in pricing any contract.

The Brockley PFI scheme has been riddled with problems since it began and local resident Patrick McGinley has been leading a campaign to try and hold the Council more accountable for the way it manages the project. We've interviewed him on the subject but have been shamefully slack in publishing an article. More soon.