Oral Answers to Questions

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Paul Burstow]

I refer the hon. Lady to the answer that I just gave. The vision for commissioning dental services sees dental local professional networks developing and delivering local services and local quality improvement strategies. Beyond that, it involves local health and wellbeing boards working together closely, involving local clinicians through the networks that I referred to earlier. The answer is that local dental clinicians will be fully involved in the ways that I have just described.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

11. What steps his Department plans to take to assist hospitals with the cost of PFI payments.

[Mr David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con)]

12. What steps his Department plans to take to assist hospitals with the cost of PFI payments.

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

A Treasury review identified savings opportunities of up to 5% on annual payments in NHS PFI schemes. The lessons learned from the PFI savings pilot will be applied to all schemes in the PFI pipeline. The previous Government left a £50 billion post-dated cheque to pay for their hospital building programme. Much of it was unaffordable and poor value for money. We are dealing with that unfortunate legacy, including the 22 NHS trusts that identified this as a constraint on their future sustainability.

[Mr Jones]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his response. PFI schemes have undoubtedly undermined the financial stability of many local health economies, as is the case in Coventry and Warwickshire. Can my right hon. Friend assure my constituents that any solution to assist PFI schemes, such as at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, will not be to the detriment of my constituents who use the George Eliot hospital in Nuneaton?

[Mr Lansley]

Yes, I believe I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. Through the process of working with NHS trusts to see what is necessary for them to become foundation trusts—for example, we are working with University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust—it is clear that action taken locally with support can deliver viability and sustainability for the future. I hope the same will be true for the George Eliot hospital, but as a separate trust it will not be as a direct consequence of the steps that are taken at Walsgrave.