§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trusts there are within the NHS. [111907]
§ Mr. HuttonThere are 301 primary care trusts, 272 National Health Service trusts including 32 ambulance trusts and 29 mental health trusts and seven care trusts.
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the projected deficit is of North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust for 2002–03. [110653]
§ Jacqui Smith[holding answer I May 2003]: At the last board meeting on 1 May 2003, the North Cheshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust reported the projected deficit for 2002–03 as being £5.8 million. In order to ensure that the trust did not fail in its statutory duty to achieve financial balance, the Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority (CMSHA) has made provision to cover the deficit with repayable brokerage.
The CMSHA has asked for revised recovery plans from the North Cheshire NHS organisations, as the plans, agreed in June 2002 and revised in October 2002, 614W were not felt to be working. The CMSHA has also asked the Audit Commission to review these financial recovery plans in order to identify the key factors contributing to the deficit, as well as to assess the effectiveness of the corporate governance arrangements of the organisations concerned. The Audit Commission is due to conclude its work in the near future.