Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has recently proposed measures to ensure that fines against NHS trusts are ringfenced for spending on health matters.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has criminal enforcement powers to fine a health or social care provider where they identify a breach of regulations. The CQC can directly serve a fixed penalty notice to a provider, or a fine may be issued by the court following prosecution brought by the CQC.

Any fixed penalty paid to the CQC is not retained but must be passed on by the CQC to my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. The CQC transfers the penalties received to the Department on a quarterly basis.

The size of the fine following prosecutions brought by the CQC is a decision made by the court and is informed by sentencing guidelines. The CQC does not have influence over this decision. The money raised by court fines is paid to HM Treasury.

The Department has not recently proposed any measures to change this.