One such area of innovation is the move from individually negotiated single site projects to complex programmes and multi-phase schemes procured through long-term partnerships and framework agreements such as primary care facilities through the LIFT programme and new schools through the Building Schools for the Future initiative. These arrangements provide for phased investment to suit the change in needs of the public sector. Further variants of this more flexible approach to private sector involvement in the delivery of public services are likely to be adopted in both the waste and transport sectors in the UK. It is likely that these new initiatives will also be adopted over time by the other governments that are developing PFI programmes.

John Laing is responding to the opportunities outside the UK by establishing strong partnerships in those markets where conditions are attractive and where deliverable future pipelines exist. PPP programmes are increasingly being developed, in some cases for fiscal reasons, but often with strong value for money objectives. A good example of the latter is Norway, which is strong in fiscal terms, and which is pursuing its pilot PPP roads programme to optimise value for money over the lifetime of the project. John Laing is or has recently been actively involved in bidding in Norway, Finland, Ireland, Poland, Austria and Hungary and is preparing for the upcoming PPP programmes in Germany and other markets.