HC Deb 28 March 1994 vol 240 cc590-1W
Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps she intends to take to ensure that redundant hospitals are disposed of promptly;

(2) what steps she takes to ensure that health authorities and NHS trusts pay due regard to the Department's estate code on property transactions in the NHS in disposing of surplus property.

Mr. Sackville

None. Health authorities and trusts are expected to follow the guidance contained in "Property Transactions in the NHS", and to conduct disposals expeditiously and in accordance with the advice of professional agents. Copies of the guidance are available in the Library.

Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated current value of the national health service estate in the North Western regional health authority region which is surplus and is to be disposed of.

Mr. Sackville

North Western regional health authority estimate the value of surplus property available for disposal over the next 10 years to be about £56 million.

Mr. Hoyle

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received concerning expenditure by Warrington Community NHS trust on maintaining empty properties; what guidance has been issued to trusts on these costs; and how they are counted for capital charging purposes.

Mr. Sackville

National health service trusts are responsible for managing their own estates.

The costs of maintaining property is a revenue cost accounted for through the trust's accounting procedures.

Capital charges are payable in respect of property in use based on an assessment of their existing use value. There is guidance on their reassessment of values for capital charges for empty property in the capital charges and trust equivalent manual.