Barts Health NHS Trust

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

The decision to create Barts Health was taken following a report that analysed the options open to the department at that time. As the noble Lord knows, there was, effectively, a merger of several trusts to create Barts Health. The advice received by the Secretary of State at the time was that none of the three trusts subject to the merger with Barts was sustainable as a stand-alone organisation. The appraisal of the options identified the three-way merger as the most beneficial and strategic solution for the system as a whole, taking into account a wide range of clinical, financial and government issues.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)]

My Lords, in looking at the non-viability, I have been concerned that the PFI deals that Barts Health is saddled with amount to £115 million a year. I wonder whether the other trusts that went into special measures have also had this albatross of PFI deals around their necks that has pulled them down over the years. Why have the Government been unable to address the problem of the burden of previous PFI deals?

[Earl Howe]

Early on in the Government’s term of office, we analysed all the trusts that were subject to PFI liabilities. The worst affected trusts were singled out to be given ongoing financial support by the Department of Health. Barts has a very large PFI debt of about £1 billion, and I have asked whether it is considered that this in itself has proved to be a deciding factor in the trust’s financial stresses. The advice I have been given is that it is not seen as a particular cause of the difficulties now being experienced.