Our Work
Just over a year from the Independent Budget Review which called for the role of SFT to be enhanced, the company continues to build on the solid performance of last year and continues to rally organisations in the public sector to work together to reap the benefits for Scotland.
The hub initiative is an example of this work and already progress can be seen on the ground at its Drumbrae build, which comprises a library, day care centre and community hub. The hub initiative consists of five community partnerships across Scotland, three of which are already up and running, and will deliver more than £1bn of infrastructure over 10 years. Hub, along with other SFT initiatives, will protect in excess of 7,000 construction jobs in Scotland.
In 2010/11, SFT started two significant new activities in conjunction with other public sector partners. These relate to delivery of the £2.5bn Non Profit Distributing (NPD) programme and cross public-sector asset management. In times of capital scarcity, the £2.5bn revenue funding programme, one of the biggest of its kind in Europe, will allow Scotland to secure vital improvements to essential public infrastructure which would have otherwise been deferred for several years.
Delivering affordable homes
In relation to housing, SFT has made much progress with its innovative National Housing Trust initiative to provide affordable housing at a time when traditional budgets are being squeezed. Under the initiative SFT has worked closely with both the public and private sectors and will initially deliver up to £100m of affordable homes across Scotland. Homes that would not have been built if it were not for the National Housing Trust initiative.
Tax Incremental Financing
SFT leads the UK with its Tax Incremental Financing (TIF), which will unlock infrastructure for major regeneration schemes in Scotland. There will be up to six TIF pilot projects in Scotland, with three already announced: the Edinburgh Waterfront Development; the Buchanan Quarter in Glasgow; and Ravenscraig. It is estimated that the first three pilots will bring c.£250m of public sector investment and further unlock more than £1.5bn of private sector investment.
Additional investment
Taken together, NPD, Tax Incremental Financing and the National Housing Trust, unlock a total of £3bn in investment for Scotland. This £3bn is additional investment over and above capital budgets, which will allow vital investment in infrastructure to continue. The additional investment programme will allow schools, colleges, hospitals and roads SFT manages the £1.25bn Schools for the Future programme. The first school, Pumpherston and Uphall Primary School, in West Lothian, will be open at the end of February 2012. This school will be the first of 35 schools in phase one of this programme to be completed. Across the programme SFT has already achieved significant savings which will mean five high-quality, sustainable schools can be built for the cost of four previously.
Around £1bn of waste treatment infrastructure will be needed in Scotland during the next decade. SFT has become a centre of expertise in waste procurement and during 2011-2012 SFT will support the waste infrastructure needs of local authorities that account for at least 40% of all household waste in Scotland.
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