Controversial schools PFI ends

But £5m of repairs will still need doing

- Phil Corrigan Local Democracy Reporter

NEARLY £5 million of school repairs still need to be carried out ~ as a controversial PFI contract finally comes to an end.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s school PFI agreement - which was the first scheme of its kind in the country, as well as the largest, covering 88 schools - expired on Saturday after 25 years.

The deal mainly covered the maintenance of school buildings, and contractor Transform Schools (Stoke) Ltd was due to carry out £23.6 million of ‘handback’ works before the end of the PFI. While £16.6 million of works have been completed, with another £2.1 million carried out and undergoing validation, around £4.9 million still needs to be done.