§ 5. Mr. Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)If he will make a statement on private finance initiative commitments in the health sector. [105154]
§ The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Paul Boateng)PFI is helping to deliver the biggest hospital building programme in the history of the NHS. Of the 104 PFI hospital schemes announced since 1997, 25 are already operational and a further 23 are under construction.
§ Mr. GibbIt is clear from the various Red Books that our commitments under PFI are increasing inexorably. In the 1999 Red Book, for example, PFI repayments during 2007 are listed as £3.7 billion, but in the latest Red Book that figure has increased to £5 billion. Have the Government set themselves a golden rule for a maximum figure for such payments, or are they acting like an out-of-control shopaholic, with increasing credit card debt and monthly payments that are spiralling out of control?
§ Mr. BoatengWhat we are doing is investing in the NHS; what we are doing is actually building hospitals. We will take no lessons on PFI from Conservative Members, because the fact of the matter is that they did not deliver a single hospital under PFI. We have delivered 25, and there are 114 still being built. That is good news for the NHS, good news for patients and good news for clinicians. What we know would be bad news is the 20 per cent. cut that the "Flight plan" would involve.
§ Mr. Geoffrey Robinson (Coventry, North-West)My right hon. Friend is correct in not taking any advice from the Conservatives. During their years in office, the PFI was a total failure, and it has come to life under this Government. Is he aware that the PFI is making a vital additional contribution to the new hospital programme, and will he please ensure that the Coventry PFI project continues on course? I should be grateful for his confirmation on that.
§ Mr. BoatengI shall certainly now take a particular interest in the Coventry PFI hospital, but I am bound to 440 say that the whole House owes my hon. Friend a debt of gratitude for his contribution to the successful development and implementation of PFI.
§ Adam Price (East Carmarthen and Dinefwr)The Government's own figures show that the volume of PFI commitment in health in Wales is lower than in any other part of the country, which is due in large part to the Welsh Assembly Government's opposition to PFI. Will the Treasury allow the National Assembly to explore alternative funding mechanisms, including the issuing of a National Assembly bond, or is a lower level of capital investment in Wales simply a price that we have to pay because of our rejecting PFI?
§ Mr. BoatengWales is receiving its fair share of the biggest increase in NHS investment that this country has ever known. The hon. Gentleman knows very well that we proceed on PFI on the basis of value for money, and on the contribution that it can make to the massive public investment that we are already making. That is reflected in Wales, as it is reflected elsewhere.