Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jonathan Djanogly

Tuesday 2nd June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I will tell the hon. Lady what has happened to the Prime Minister’s pledge to protect hospitals: an extra £10 billion that we have promised for the NHS, which her party refused to promise. Her local hospital has 88 more doctors since 2010, and it is doing an extra 2,000 operations for her constituents year in, year out. I will tell her what makes the deficit problem a lot worse: the heritage of the private finance initiative, which means £73 billion of debt that her party bequeathed to the NHS.

[Mr Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon) (Con)]

In 2004 the then Huntingdonshire primary care trust said that it would give Hinchingbrooke hospital a grant of £8 million towards the cost of a new PFI treatment centre. Shortly before the PCT’s demise, it changed without discussion the terms of the grant and made it a loan, which has since been treated in its accounts as a deficit. If I write to my right hon. Friend, will he look into that patently unfair treatment?

[Mr Hunt]

Of course. One of my biggest concerns is that many of the hospitals now facing huge deficits are seeing their situation made infinitely worse by PFI debt. We will continue to do everything we can to help hospitals deal with that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jonathan Djanogly

Tuesday 13th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

There have been a number of problems with the service offered by the ombudsman. There has been a lack of expertise in the ombudsman’s office to investigate the most difficult cases. This is obviously a responsibility of Parliament not of mine, but I have had good discussions with my hon. Friend the Member for Harwich and North Essex (Mr Jenkin), who chairs the Public Administration Committee, about how the services can be improved.

[Mr Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon) (Con)]

The last week has been an extremely testing time for Hinchingbrooke hospital in my constituency, for its hard-working staff and for its loyal patients. Will my right hon. Friend please take this opportunity to confirm his Department’s full support for Hinchingbrooke hospital and to give some advice on the way management will be transitioned so as to minimise patient disruption?

[Mr Hunt]

I am happy to do that, and I reassure my hon. Friend that our top priority will be to ensure that there is a smooth transition to the new management of the hospital as Circle moves away. I thank him for the measured tone he has taken and I reassure him that his constituents’ safety and care is our top priority.