§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate, by scheme, the subsidies paid by his Department under the smoothing mechanism to the three major acute PFI schemes prioritised by his Department since May. [21407]
§ Mr. Galbraith[holding answer 18 December 1997]: The smoothing mechanism is not a feature of PFI in health schemes in Scotland, hence no subsidies will be paid to the NHS Trusts involved in the major PFI schemes. To succeed under PFI, schemes must prove themselves to be affordable to the healthcare planners.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate for each of the major acute PFI schemes prioritised by his Department since May, the102W financial and percentage change in the purchasers" annual revenue commitment to PFI hospital schemes between outline and full business case. [21410]
§ Mr. Galbraith[holding answer 18 December 1997]: Health Boards as strategic planners of healthcare do not make annual revenue commitments to schemes at either the outline or full business case stage.
As part of the business planning process for both publicly and privately funded schemes, Health Boards are required to confirm that the proposals are affordable within the wider context of healthcare provision. It is the responsibility of NHS Trusts to ensure that the revenue commitments implied by a scheme can be met from the resources available.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each of the acute PFI schemes prioritised by his Department since May, how much each relevant health trust paid for each of the last three years in annual capital charges to the Treasury. [21408]
§ Mr. Galbraith[holding answer 18 December 1997]: NHS Trusts do not pay capital charges to HM Treasury. However, they do repay interest on their interest bearing debt and may be required to pay a dividend on their Public Dividend Capital. The total sums for interest and 103W dividends remitted to HM Treasury in 1994–95 to 1996–97 by the three NHS Trusts with acute PFI schemes was as follows:
£000 NHS Trust 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh 6,010 6,324 6,167 Law Hospital 1,341 1,478 1,657 Hairmyres and Stonehouse Hospitals 1,996 2,687 2,441
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each of the major acute PFI schemes prioritised by his Department since May, how much each lead consortium involved will receive per year for the use of the new hospitals upon completion. [21412]
§ Mr. Galbraith[holding answer 18 December 1997]: Since none of the deals for the major acute PFI schemes has reached financial close, details of the unitary charge payable to the private sector is still being negotiated.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each of the three major acute PFI schemes prioritised by his Department since May(a) the cost of renovating the existing facilities and (b) the current estimated cost of the scheme. [21406]
§ Mr. Galbraith[holding answer 18 December 1997]: As part of the capital investment process, NHS Trusts prepare outline business cases examining all the investment options and through an economic appraisal identify the preferred option. The preferred option is the one which, taking account of costs and benefits and the transfer of risk, delivers the best value for money. The renovation of existing facilities was not the preferred option in any of the major acute PH schemes.