Mark Hellowell

About Mark Hellowell

Mark Hellowell is a lecturer in health systems and public policy organisation at the University of Edinburgh. His special interest is public private partnerships, and he has been an adviser to the Treasury select committee’s inquiry into the private finance initiative. Mark has published and broadcast widely on these issues.

Osborne will have to dig deeper

4 February 2013 | Mark Hellowell

George Osborne’s big idea for growth is more spending on infrastructure. But gimmicks like ‘PF2’ are unlikely to do the trick Read more

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PF2: still the only game in town?

6 December 2012 | Mark Hellowell

Ministers are putting their faith in a new, improved version of the Private Finance Initiative. But financing costs are likely to increase in the short term and alternative options are still few and far between Read more

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Beware dangers from building boost

5 September 2012 | Mark Hellowell

The government is planning to underwrite £50bn of infrastructure and housing projects, but it must be careful to not burden the taxpayer with liabilities that could prove catastrophically expensive Read more

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Infrastructure guarantees: it’s still the state that pays

19 July 2012 | Mark Hellowell

Amidst all the talk about infrastructure ‘guarantees’, a new method of state underwriting for PFI projects has been largely ignored. It’s a move that brings considerable risks Read more

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PFI: still making the same mistakes

27 June 2012 | Mark Hellowell

South London Healthcare NHS trust is not alone in its problems with the Private Finance Initiative. New projects worth £1.4bn are currently being procured and similar errors are still taking place Read more

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Attention to deficit disorder?

9 May 2012 | Mark Hellowell

The coalition has promised, amongst other things,  to ‘wipe the slate clean’ of debt by 2017. It appears to be in a state of denial Read more

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Treasury puts the bind on bonds

26 April 2012 | Mark Hellowell

Councils are keen on raising extra cash from the bond markets. But the Budget has undermined local initiatives Read more

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Budget 2012: infrastructure inactivity

23 March 2012 | Mark Hellowell

Ministers say they are committed to a ‘son of PFI’ but the Budget made plain that progress on developing new infrastructure funding models has stalled Read more

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Osborne’s infrastructure plan: PFI redux?

29 November 2011 | Mark Hellowell

The infrastructure plan in today’s Autumn Statement looks suspiciously like a way to transfer more risk back into the public sector Read more...

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Lansley’s hypocrisy on NHS cuts and PFI

26 September 2011 | Mark Hellowell

The PFI is being blamed by Andrew Lansley for the NHS’s financial problems. But the policy has been supported by successive governments, including this one – and the bigger cause of cuts lies elsewhere  Read more

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