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For two decades, the Private Finance Initiative has been a controversial way of building new hospitals, schools, roads and prisons. Well over £200bn of taxpayers' money has been committed to the companies managing these projects. The coalition government describes some PFI contracts as 'ghastly' and wants some of this cash back. One cabinet minister says 'the people on the other side must have been laughing all the way to the bank'.
But, while public services are facing cuts, PFI payments are guaranteed under watertight contracts. So experts say the government can win only small amounts in rebates. Much of the money has already gone offshore. Huge profits have been made by selling and reselling many contracts in a secretive 'secondary market' - with none of the proceeds returning to the taxpayer.
Gerry Northam investigates gaps in HM Treasury's knowledge of this trade and asks if PFI represents value for public money. Producer: Rob Cave.
Secret History of Social Networking
It's a phenomenon which seems to have come from nowhere, but in fact computer-based social networks have been around for decades. In this three-part series the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan Jones traces the hidden story of social networking, from the early days of computing and the 60s counterculture through to the businesses worth billions today. From their roots in utopian experiments in California, online social networks spread around the world. In the past few years companies such as Facebook and Twitter have captivated millions of users. But what will be the next big thing in social networking, and how is it changing our lives? This series was originally broadcast in three weekly parts from 26 January 2011.
It's a phenomenon which seems to have come from nowhere, but in fact computer-based social networks have been around for decades. In this three-part series the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan Jones traces the hidden story of social networking, from the early days of computing and the 60s counterculture through to the businesses worth billions today. From their roots in utopian experiments in California, online social networks spread around the world. In the past few years companies such as Facebook and Twitter have captivated millions of users. But what will be the next big thing in social networking, and how is it changing our lives? This series was originally broadcast in three weekly parts from 26 January 2011.
Rory Cellan-Jones traces the roots of social networking from the counterculture of the 70s through early bulletin boards and the first networks on the World Wide Web. Forty years ago, hippies and hackers came together to produce the first attempts at online community. Rory follows the trend through to the arrival of the World Wide Web, which turned a mass audience on to the internet and social networking.
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