Stoke council bosses are locked in dispute over almost 3,000 school building issues just months before England鈥檚 biggest education private finance initiative (PFI) contract ends. Local authority chiefs in Sheffield also fear legal action from trusts if they fail to ensure a PFI company meets contractual obligations to return schools back to state ownership in good condition. Meanwhile, multi-million-pound court rows have also erupted in Lancashire over alleged defects in a number of schools built through similar deals, which are now coming to an end. 鈥榋ero-sum game鈥 Andrew Chubb, of advisory firm Project PFI, says the contracts are a 鈥渮ero-sum game鈥. 鈥淓very pound the contractor has to spend on making sure the school is handed back is a pound less for their company… [but] the school needs the most spent in line with making sure it鈥檚 in the condition it鈥檚 paid for under the contract. 鈥淚f that isn鈥檛 done in good time, then the chances of schools being handed back in a less than perfect condition are far higher.鈥 Andrew Chubb Successive governments have used PFI to fund new schools since the late 1990s. Private companies build and maintain sites in exchange for mortgage-style payments, normally over 25-year contracts 鈥 which rise beyond inflation 鈥 before handing them over to taxpayers. has 88 schools built under a PFI contract due to end in October. It鈥檚 the largest school PFI contract in the country.聽 But during a meeting last year, the local authority revealed that the findings of its own surveys have prompted disagreements with the PFI company, Transform Schools (Stoke) Limited, over work to be undertaken before handback. Figures shared during the meeting suggest almost 36,000 assets 鈥 from roofs and boilers to tables and chairs 鈥 were analysed during the checks. Almost 8 per cent 鈥 about 2,800 items 鈥 are at the centre of 鈥渄ispute resolution discussions鈥, where the council believes an item requires action before the contract ends, but the PFI firm disagrees. The Sheffield story In Sheffield, six PFI schools are due to reach the end of their contract next August. Each of the schools 鈥渋s due to be returned鈥 in broadly similar condition to the point at which they were when new-built, but subject to 鈥榝air wear and tear鈥欌. Council papers show the authority carried out its own surveys, comparing its results with information from the PFI company. This exposed 鈥渄ifferences鈥 that 鈥渨ill be the main area of focus as we move towards handback鈥, the documents said. The company proposed to undertake 拢5.6 million of work in 2024-25. But the authority believes 鈥渕ajor risks鈥 are whether that is achievable and if the 拢900,000 this would leave in the 鈥渓ifecycle pot鈥 鈥 cash built up to cover maintenance projects 鈥 鈥渋s wholly sufficient鈥 for return of assets鈥. Minutes from a meeting of the area鈥檚 schools forum last summer also show leaders are concerned 鈥渢here is inadequate time to undertake the building work required and [about] the implications if this is not possible鈥. Sheffield says it will work to 鈥渉old the PFI [company] to their contractual obligations to return the school assets in the contractually agreed condition鈥. But if this doesn鈥檛 happen, the council will need to pay for any outstanding work from its capital funding, 鈥渁dding to our own financial exposure鈥. 19 PFI deals expiring in three years Meanwhile, a series of legal fights, totalling 拢11 million, have erupted in Lancashire over alleged defects in a number of schools. Court documents show Lancashire council also wanted to make deductions of about 拢3 million to PFI payments. The first of these deals will end in 2033. The company at the centre of one of the disputes argues if there is an issue, it鈥檚 the result of breaches of the building or facilities management contracts, held by other companies. The cases again expose the huge issues hollowed-out councils face in ensuring schools do not lose out under the complex deals, which often involve multiple companies. Just two school PFI deals have expired. Four more will end this year, with 15 more finishing by 2028. In 2021, the Cabinet Office started running health checks on contracts set to expire in less than seven years. In March last year, just two of 41 checked were deemed to be on track. One in five was found to need 鈥渕ajor鈥 additional work.