Suffolk: Liberal Democrats urge caution over Suffolk's Private Finance Initiative

4.51.15pm GMT Tue 31st Oct 2006

Liberal Democrats in Suffolk today urged caution over the decision of the Conservative controlled county council to investigate a private finance initiative (PFI) to build new fire stations across Suffolk.

Liberal Democrat Councillor and Chair of the Public Protection committee on the County Council, Cllr John Field, said, "PFI schemes must be approached with great care. I appreciate the work which has gone into getting this far with the scheme, but we need to be careful not to rush the last phase. Any contracts which are negotiated must be done so robustly and enforced vigorously when signed. We also need to ensure that any members of staff who will be affected are consulted with adequately and any fears they have dealt with carefully. My only concern is that under current budget arrangements the administration might be committing themselves to something which they can't afford."