Finance quango's bitter critic 'to be its new chief executive'

Published on Thursday 2 April 2009 22:18

THE man set to head the Scottish Futures Trust has been one of the quango's biggest critics from the private sector.

Barry White is in line to be named as the SFT's chief executive, but until now he and the Scottish Government have been in complete opposition on financing public projects.

Mr White is currently the chief executive of BAM which specialises in public-private partnerships (PPPs), the very form of funding which the SNP has vowed to end and damned for costing the public purse hundreds of millions of pounds in Scotland.

The Scotsman has learnt that one of BAM's most high-profile projects north of the Border was the new 100 million Vale of Leven Academy in West Dunbartonshire, which was bitterly opposed by the SNP both at council and national level.

The council was so concerned about the project being cancelled by an incoming SNP Scottish Government that it rushed through decisions in April 2007 weeks before the elections so it could not be cancelled.

The then SNP education spokeswoman, now education secretary, Fiona Hyslop, condemned the project. She said: "There has to be a change to the model schools PPP contract, to ensure that decent PE facilities and out-of-hours access for community use are built in to prevent the zealous sell-off of playing fields to pay for PPP profits."

Local Labour MSP Jackie Baillie said: "The SNP bitterly opposed this project. The fact they are now appointing the man responsible for it to head the SFT shows they have actually accepted PPPs, whatever they say publicly."

The Liberal Democrats' finance spokesman, Jeremy Purvis added: "This appointment highlights the confused thinking and chaotic handling of the SFT from the SNP government."

Evidence has also emerged of statements made by Mr White attacking the SNP's policy.

In a round table discussion organised by CA Magazine in June last year, he said: "There is a danger that the current model (NPD) will mean bidders will look elsewhere. If you are taking and managing risk, why would you price it at such a low level here and not elsewhere?"

He also speculated: "The SFT could become a political issue between Edinburgh and Westminster." And he added: "Scotland has been a good place to do business over the past few years, probably better than elsewhere in the UK. It's a shame that there's a risk it could lose out."

And when asked if he would continue with PPP, he said: "The answer is yes. But I don't know if you would choose to go into the Scottish market now."