The West Midlands has a history of innovation in public service provision. The Chamberlains’ activities in establishing the Birmingham Municipal Savings Bank and in the pioneering municipal provision of gas and water in Birmingham are frequently quoted as proof of this.
Less well known is the trailblazing role played by the region in the private finance initiative (PFI). Even before Norman Lamont announced the PFI to an unsuspecting world in his 1992 Autumn statement, Birmingham City Council had already issued an Official Journal of the European Communities for the first local authority Design, Build, Finance & Operate contract some weeks before. The £800m waste management contract, which Birmingham let in January 1994, required the contractor to design, build, finance and operate a municipal waste incinerator for 25 years, with the authority paying through a monthly service charge.
