PLANS for a state-owned national infrastructure company are to be considered by the SNP conference in June following the collapse of the private outsourcing giant Carillion earlier this year.
A resolution, backed by Alex Neil MSP, as well as MPs Chris Stephens and Ronnie Cowan, calls for a public alternative to allow for the financing and building of major projects such as roads, hospitals and schools. It condemns “the reckless profiteering of Carillion which puts thousands of jobs and projects at risk” and Labour’s “toxic Private Finance Initiative legacy which will cost Scottish taxpayers £30 billion over the coming decades”.
It adds: “There must be a public alternative available for the financing and building of infrastructure projects to ensure there is reduced risk, public accountability. social responsibility and that quality is put above profit.”
Over the weekend it emerged the Official Receiver, a civil servant appointed by the courts to handle bankruptcies, estimated Carillion had liabilities of £6.9bn when it entered liquidation meaning the banks, pension funds and tens of thousands of subcontractors owed money are left with an uphill struggle to recoup money owed to them.
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