Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Lewer Excerpts
Tuesday 15th January 2019

(5 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Andrew Lewer Portrait Andrew Lewer (Northampton South) (Con)
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T8. Perhaps the worst private finance initiative contract in the country was awarded in 2001 to Shaw Healthcare for the rehabilitation of elderly people coming out of hospital. Northamptonshire County Council has been paying Shaw for a service in which more than 50% of beds have been lying empty. What steps can the Department take to manage the problems that have arisen from this and other PFI contracts?

Stephen Hammond Portrait Stephen Hammond
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Departmental officials have worked alongside the council to engage with Shaw Healthcare to identify the causes and explore the solutions to minimise the number of empty beds under the PFI. Through improved contract management and regular meetings with Shaw, significant improvements are being made, and contract changes are under discussion to further improve performance. This aligns with the Department’s best practice centre for PFI contracts, as the Chancellor announced in the Budget—