Health and Social Care (Re-committed) Bill

Fiona Mactaggart Excerpts

Tuesday 6th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

Yes, I understand that and I think that my hon. Friend makes entirely the right point. This is not about a bail-out; the commissioning board and Monitor will need to agree the methodology, because neither side will wish to undermine the integrity of the regulatory structure and the price structure that Monitor is responsible for, nor will the NHS commissioning board and commissioners want to pay any more for services than is necessary to secure continued access. None the less, continuing access to quality services for patients is the essential principle, and so there will be circumstances, particularly where it has become evident that in the absence of this there would be an unacceptable deterioration in or failure of services, in which it is necessary for the methodology to add to the tariff price.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

The right hon. Gentleman will recall that very shortly after Monitor had approved the granting of foundation trust status to my local district general hospital, Wexham Park hospital, it ended up in very serious financial difficulty, and I was grateful to him when he arrived with a loan to ensure the continuation of service. What I am not clear about in the regime that he proposes is who will be able to provide those kinds of resources when something as important as the district general hospital’s future is at risk.

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for that. I will deal with that matter in a moment, because subsequent amendments in this group continue the capacity of the Department of Health, for example, to make a loan in those circumstances—that would not change.

Of the five principal changes that I was talking about—