Health and Social Care (Re-committed) Bill

Andrew Gwynne Excerpts

Tuesday 6th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Grahame M. Morris]

I am grateful that that information has been put on the record.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is right to talk about the potential role for overseas health companies. He might have seen the article in The Guardian yesterday stating:

“A German company has been in talks to take over NHS hospitals, the first tangible evidence that foreign multinationals will be able to run state-owned acute services”.

That has become apparent only through freedom of information requests. Does my hon. Friend think that this is the slippery slope that this Bill is going to usher in?

[Grahame M. Morris]

That point was raised during the Secretary of State’s earlier remarks. [Interruption.] Well, it came in response to a freedom of information request. I thought that his response was illuminating, as he assured us that that would not involve the transfer of NHS real estate, although he did not rule out the possibility that private sector providers would take over the running of these things. The report that I saw said that they would take responsibility for the management and staff, and he gave no rebuttal of that report.