Many school PFI contracts were signed in the late 1990s and 2000s on terms of 25 to 30 years. A large number now reach the end of those terms over the next decade. When a contract expires, the buildings, the maintenance and often the staff come back to the school, the trust or the local authority. Getting that handback right takes years of preparation, not months.
Expiry Health Checks
The government's PFI centre runs Expiry Health Checks for public bodies with PFI contracts. They are offered at seven, five and three years before expiry, and the guidance was last updated in January 2026. Each check reviews the contract documents and includes a structured interview, then rates readiness across five themes:
- Contract management and expiry planning
- Relationships with the PFI company and its contractors
- Assets: their condition, maintenance and lifecycle records
- Commercial position, including what the contract says about condition at handback
- Future services: how the buildings will be run after expiry
The result is a five-point rating from red to green. Red or red/amber projects get a follow-up review about six months later.
What the early checks found
The first 52 checks, reported on in December 2021, painted a clear picture. A quarter of projects had not started preparing for expiry. Around 80% had no robust, approved expiry plan. Nearly two-thirds said they did not have enough people to manage expiry alongside the day-to-day contract.
From our own time running PFI contracts, that matches what we see. The contract team is fully occupied keeping the service running, and expiry work keeps slipping to next year.
Where to start
- Find and organise the contract, every variation and the handback provisions. You cannot plan without knowing what you are entitled to.
- Get an independent condition survey well before the final years, while there is still time to require the PFI company to put things right.
- Decide early how services will be delivered after expiry: in-house, outsourced or a mix. That decision drives staffing, procurement and budgets.
- Put a named lead and a small team on expiry, separate from day-to-day contract management.
- Check what TUPE will mean for staff who transfer back.
Our PFI Expiry service supports schools and trusts through each of these stages, from the first review to the day the contract ends.