Oral Answers to Questions

Rob Marris Excerpts

Tuesday 5th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

First, I thank my hon. Friend for the campaigning he does for his local hospital. He knows that I very much support that merger and hope that it will go ahead. It is worth paying tribute to the staff at the trust, who have brought down mortality rates to within the NHS average. The Care Quality Commission says that plans to improve safety are working well. We should celebrate the fact that even the trusts in special measures have hired 700 more doctors and 1,800 more nurses and are making real progress in improving patient safety.

[Rob Marris (Wolverhampton South West) (Lab)]

Private finance initiatives are costly and damaging; they always have been and always will be. Can the Secretary of State tell us what percentage of hospitals in special measures have had significant PFI funding?

[Mr Hunt]

I can write to the hon. Gentleman with the details, but I can tell him now that the Government inherited £70 billion of PFI debt, which has caused enormous pressure throughout the NHS.