§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list all the current(a) chairs and (b) non-executive directors of each trust board, indicating the gender and occupation of each individual.
§ Mr. MaloneI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 24 October at column445.
§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the total expenditure by NHS trusts on the insurance of buildings and equipment in each of the last four years.
§ Mr. SackvilleNone.
§ Mr. Tim SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance or instructions have been given to national health service trusts about the timely payment of suppliers' bills; and what evidence she has about the performance of national health service trusts in this regard.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe national health service has been routinely monitored against a payment target of eight weeks from receipt of goods and services. Monitoring in the 1994–95 financial year shows that trusts are generally meeting this target.
New guidance was issued to the national health service in October 1994 on the timely payment of suppliers. The guidance includes the expectation that all trusts will abide by the Confederation of British Industry prompt payment code and with Government accounting regulations. A copy of the guidance, FDL(94)67, is available in the Library.