This report by the United Kingdom House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs presents key findings from its Inquiry into Private Finance Projects and Off-balance Sheet Debt.

The report defines a Private Finance Project (PFP) as a contractual arrangement between the public and private sectors to use private finance to realise public programmes. Although PFPs have become well established in the UK, there is a lack of hard data on them. The inquiry sought to assess the evolution and implementation of PFPs as well as their future prospects.

The report presents a range of key recommendations and conclusions on how the costs and benefits of PFPs can be assessed, how their performance compares to traditional procurement, whether the perceived risk transfer to the private sector actually occurs and other key questions surrounding the use of PFPs.