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The plug has been pulled on 13 housing Private Finance Initiative (PFI) 'pipeline' projects in a bid to save £1.9bn. They include projects across the Midlands.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) are withdrawing support for schemes in Midlands including: Lyndhurst Estate in Birmingham; Eastfields and Thorplands in Northampton; Meadows Estate in Nottingham; Extra-Care Housing in Shropshire and the Surburban Estate in Stoke-on-Trent.

However, it has confirmed that 13 others that are in procurement will go ahead for the time being. In the Midlands, these include the Social Rented Housing scheme in Derby and Extra-Care Housing in Stoke-on-Trent City Council. 

Twenty-five housing schemes under contract will also continue to be supported.

HCA chief executive Pat Ritchie said: “At the HCA we will now concentrate on helping local authorities maximise the impact of available funding, through our expertise on procurement and other technical services.

“We will also work with those councils which have received disappointing news today, to look at any ways in which their objectives might be supported through a non-PFI route.

The 13 schemes currently in procurement will now be subject to a “further rigorous review of value for money”, with the outcome expected in December.

The HCA added that it would liaise with local authorities that have housing PFI projects in procurement or pipeline projects.

Commenting on the news, Phillip Woolley, partner in the government and infrastructure advisory team at Grant Thornton, said: "The news will come as a disappointment to the other authorities preparing housing PFI business cases. However, we would encourage them to look at the new funding mechanisms being put forward by the government, to assess whether they offer a viable alternative to PFI."