Oral Answers to Questions

David Mowat Excerpts

Tuesday 26th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We will get to No. 13 in due course. Never mind.

[David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)]

10. What assessment his Department has made of the effect of hospitals built under the private finance initiative on the work of neighbouring hospitals.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Dr Daniel Poulter)]

This Government recognise that no hospital operates in isolation. We are providing seven NHS trusts that are facing difficulties as a result of PFI agreements with access to a £1.5 billion support fund to pay for extra costs accrued as a result of those damaging PFI schemes.

[David Mowat]

I apologise for my voice—perhaps I shall soon be interacting more directly with the NHS.

The Warrington and Halton hospital has independent trust status. It is busy and getting busier. The previous Government built a huge PFI hospital about 10 miles away at Whiston, which does not have the patient volumes to sustain the demands of the botched PFI deal. It is heavily loss-making. Will the Minister provide assurance that there will be no forced merger and that my constituents will not pay for a bad decision made a decade ago?

[Dr Poulter]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. He is right to highlight the very damaging PFI scheme signed by the previous Government for the St Helens and Knowsley NHS Trust. The percentage of annual turnover going on PFI payments at the moment is 14.2%. That is unsustainable, which is why this Government are trying to sort out the mess created by the previous Government’s signing up to too many PFI agreements.