Value for money

Procuring new primary health and social care facilities using LIFT rather than traditional methods, offers value for money. Research by Community Health Partnerships has found that the costs to a LIFT scheme tenant represent value for money particularly in terms of:

• Valuable additional services provided by the LIFT schemes, including high levels of maintenance and third party liability insurance, which ensures that the premises are fully insured and available at all times.

• The benefits of working in a new building, including compliance with latest regulations (such as Disability Discrimination Act compliance), reduced energy costs, improved security and lower maintenance costs.

• The increased efficiency in service provision made possible by a design specifically tailored to the needs of the professionals using the facilities and community being served.

• The high quality building specification. The involvement of the LIFT company from the conception of each new project creates an effective opportunity for the public sector to make informed choice between available options against a reliable indication of out-turn cost in each case.

• The LIFTCo carries the risk of loss of rent if some of the specified facilities become either unavailable or function poorly. So there is a powerful incentive for the LIFTCo to maintain high quality premises for the whole term of the lease.