§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish the circular he sent to authority chairmen in August requesting them to look at the possibility of using private enterprise in the National Health Service; and what response he has had to this circular.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergCopies of the letter of 20 August 1981 from my hon. Friend the Minister for Health to the chairmen of health authorities have been placed in the Library of the House. All health authorities have now replied. Their response has shown that for a range of services health authorities find it efficient and economic to contract out to private enterprise. I hope that they will review continually what further opportunities there are for conracting out services to make savings which will release money for patient care.
§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what response he received when he discussed privatisation in the National Health Service with the Trades Union Congress health services committee.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergThe Trades Union Congress health services committee expressed anxiety that the National Health Service would lose control of a large area of work necessary to its successful operation; it was concerned about staff morale and potential redundancies and questioned the relative efficiency of contract services. My hon. Friend the Minister for Health assured the committee that the approach was not a doctrinaire one. The intention was to explore with NHS management and staff what benefits might accrue from extending further the fairly substantial amount of NHS services already contracted out to private enterprise as described in the reply to the hon. Member on 22 December 1981—[Vol. 15, c.384–5].
§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether the working party on the funding of the National Health Service has finished its examination; and whether he will issue a Green Paper on its findings;
(2) if he will place a copy of the findings of the working party on alternative financing in the National Health Service in the Library.
§ Mr. FowlerThe working party has just completed a report describing a range of possible ways of financing health care. I shall be considering in consultation with other Ministers whether or not any of these are worth further study, and whether and if so when any material might be published.