Public/Private Partnerships: Shares

Lord Young of Norwood Green Excerpts

Monday 3rd November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)]

We will look at public/private partnerships in the future. We are looking at them in a limited way for neighbourhood health centres, for example, and public estate decontamination projects, but we need certainty over future funding, which is why we have committed over the next decade at least £725 billion of investment in infrastructure so that we can ensure growth.

[Lord Young of Norwood Green (Lab)]

My Lords, I have had some experience of this, given that my union was involved when BT was privatised in 1984. That was a successful public/private partnership; it is a shame that today there is such scepticism. Of course, it requires the Government to be capable of ensuring a successful negotiation, but it also needs to ensure that the people involved—in my case, it was the union members—get a good deal, and they did get a good deal: for every share they invested, they got two shares back. The reaction from Eurostar is interesting. Virgin Trains is trying to run another train service through the tunnel. What is the reaction of Eurostar? It is to find every legal means possible to oppose it. It does not seem to me to be a good approach. As long as we are going to benefit, and as long as we are going to get growth and productivity, it seems to me that public/private partnerships are a good idea.

[Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that question; it is very good of him. As I said, we will look into how we ensure that public/private partnerships work in the future for the benefit not just of customers but of the Government and the taxpayer. We need to ensure that we move forward on this so that everybody is part of the success story, which I think they can be if it is done right.