Member

We know that handing public assets to private companies in the hope they will return a public benefit has some flaws. We are still paying for PFIs, while private water companies have consistently prioritised shareholder returns and executive pay over investment in critical infrastructure, at huge cost to the public, our rivers and seas. Thirty years after John Major privatised the railways and operators, this Government have pledged to return both to public ownership, having seen billions of taxpayer pounds go into private hands. Yet at the same time as they are reclaiming these assets and infrastructure for and on behalf of the UK, they are doing deals that undervalue one of our most valuable national assets, our publicly held data. It is a resource that could, if managed appropriately, bring revenue to our struggling public sector and revolutionise the delivery of public service while reducing spending. Instead, I worry that we give unconditional access to companies that take that learning and turn it into products and services for which we will in the future pay market price and which will generate large profits.