HM Treasury News Release
101/97                                        18 August 1997
______________________________________________________________
                                
      CITY HEAVYWEIGHT TAKES HIS SEAT AT HEAD OF NEW
                    TREASURY PFI TASKFORCE

Paymaster General Geoffrey Robinson today welcomed the arrival
of Adrian Montague (formerly Co-Head of Global Project Finance
at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson) as Chief Executive of the new
Treasury Private Finance Taskforce.  

The Taskforce is being established within the Treasury
following the recent review of private finance by Malcolm
Bates.  The Taskforce will be a driving force, in conjunction
with spending departments, in bringing about PFI and other
Public/Private Partnerships.  

Mr Montague will report directly to the Paymaster.  His
responsibilities will include signing off the commercial
viability of all significant projects entering procurement for
the next two years.

Welcoming Mr Montague to his new office, Mr Robinson said:

     "I am delighted to welcome a Chief Executive of Adrian's
     outstanding talents.  He faces a great challenge at an
     exciting time and I will give him all the help he needs.  

     "The commitment of this Government to realising the full 
     potential from effective Public/Private Partnerships is 
     second to none.  We took action to reinvigorate PFI 
     within weeks of taking office and are now bringing into 
     effect the principal agent for putting PFI on a firm 
     long-term footing."

Taking up his new challenge, Adrian Montague said:

     "This is a unique opportunity for me to make a real
     contribution to the delivery of high quality services to
     the public.  My first step is to attract a top-quality
     Taskforce.  This will help deliver my ambition of making
     the Taskforce an effective catalyst to promote the
     changes we need to make a success of PFI.  

     "I want to create close relationships with government 
     departments, agencies and local authorities in order to 
     develop a good flow of strong and well-structured 
     projects.  I look forward to working with my new public 
     sector colleagues to produce value for money for the 
     taxpayer and good opportunities for business."

Notes to Editors

1.   In a Government ordered Review of PFI, Malcolm Bates
recommended that the Taskforce should have a projects arm (to
be headed by Mr Montague) and a policy  arm.  The policy team
is being led by Peter Wanless, a Treasury official who has
been Head of its Private Finance Unit since February 1996.

2.   Adrian Montague has held senior project finance positions
at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson since 1994.  Prior to that he was
Head of Projects at Linklaters and Paines.

3.   Mr Montague`s salary will be 160,000 Pounds. He will head 
a team of 6-8 private sector project experts, who will be
recruited over the coming weeks. 

4.   A summary of the Bates review's recommendations is in
Treasury press notice 69/97.
     
5.   If you have access to the Internet you can find this
information at http://www.hm- treasury.gov.uk.  Material on
other Treasury matters can also be found at this address.