PPP plans under pressure

The government's plans to improve public services through a massive programme of public private partnerships (PPPs) is under increasing pressure this week as both unions and European officials continued to demand fundamental changes to the way PPPs are procured.

Both Unison and the GMB cranked up their demands that cleaners, porters, maintenance and site staff remain public sector employees under PPP deals. Unison chief Dave Prentis said he wanted to see a "marginal role" for private companies in the modernisation of public services.

John Edmonds, leader of the GMB, called for "specific guarantees" from the government on "pay, investment and conditions" for public sector workers affected by PPP.

Furthermore the GMB is demanding that the government's pilot scheme at three privately financed hospitals (CJ 27 June), which will see ancillary workers employed by the NHS but managed by the private sector, be extended to include site and maintenance staff.

Meanwhile a Construction Confederation (CC) delegation failed to wrest any concessions from EU bureaucrats on their plans to outlaw the practice of public sector clients negotiating with a single preferred bidder.

The EU's Consolidated Procurement Directive aims to introduce competitive dialogue where competition between bidders will be maintained until contract award (CJ 7 March). Both the CC and the Association of Consulting Engineers have warned the Commission that this could make firms unwilling to bid for PPP work, since bid costs could soar from £1m to at least £5m per bidder.

The delegation warned commissioners that the changes to procurement rules threatened not only Britain's plans to modernise its public services but also the EU's pan-European transport strategy (TENS).

Mowlem's development director Arthur Moore, who was part of the delegation, said: "They recognise there is a difficulty but they are not 100% sympathetic to our views because they are concerned that the negotiated procedure is open to corruption.

"However they do recognise the need for a solution, but it may not be the same solution as we are proposing."

The CC will draw up a number of draft amendments that will be put to the European Parliament in the autumn.