Case Explained: Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott settles £20m legal tussle over PFI contract – Legal Perspective

Kent Police could be facing a bill of more than £20m to settle an action out of court over alleged defects to one of its buildings.

The lengthy and complex legal tussle over North Kent Police Station came to an end late last year when the force and administrators for Justice Support Service (JSS) agreed to the “likely” £21.4m figure.

Matthew Scott, the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner who is responsible for managing the force’s finances, said he secured a settlement to the case on the advice of independent legal experts.

Mr Scott became involved in the dispute in August 2023 when he cancelled JSS’s private finance initiative (PFI) contract to maintain the police station and Kent Police took over the building.

The building in Thames Way, Northfleet had allegedly experienced issues in the years after it was opened in 2008.

According to one report, the case was due to be heard last month and parties came to an agreement in December.

Administrators from AlixPartners UK LLP, Benjamin Browne and Alastair Beveridge, were appointed in December 2022 to handle the JSS case, although the principal creditor was the Bank of Scotland Plc.

Their latest progress report filed with Companies House states: “The administrators commenced litigation against the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner (Kent Police).

“The administrators anticipate that realisations from the proceedings will be sufficient to enable the bank’s principal indebtedness to be repaid in full, however, the outcome to preferential and unsecured creditors remains uncertain.”

The report states the “likely level of return” as £21.4m, although the papers state the original sum sought was £38.8m.

Mr Scott said in a statement: “As Kent Police and Crime Commissioner, I terminated the PFI contract for North Kent Police Station in August 2023 and subsequently took ownership of the site.

“In December 2025, and on the advice of independent legal experts, I secured an out of court settlement ending a dispute with the PFI contractor.

“During the complex legal process, my office has worked closely with the force to ensure the station has always remained operationally fit for purpose, and there has been no negative impact on the communities served by the officers and staff working at the site.”

PFI is a public-private partnership model used to finance, build, and operate public infrastructure — such as schools, hospitals, and roads — using private capital.