§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost of PFI-based capital investment in the NHS in London has been since 1997; and what revenue costs were incurred on an annual basis to service the financing facilities. [133747]
§ Mr. HuttonFor private finance initiative (PFI) schemes with a capital value greater than £10 million, the total capital cost of PFI-based investment in the four new London strategic health authorities since 1997 is £975,900,000. The capital value of PFI schemes is defined as: total capital cost to the private sector including the costs of land, construction, equipment and professional fees but excluding value added tax, rolled up interest and financing costs. As PFI procures a service, rather than the underlying asset, capital values are necessarily estimates.
Unitary payments on a PFI scheme—paid for from a trust's general revenue allocations—include elements for 'hard' and 'soft' facilities management services as well as financing costs. A partial breakdown of the unitary costs for schemes with a capital value exceeding £20 million is held centrally. This shows the split between 'availability' and 'services' where 'availability' includes costs attributable to 'hard' facilities management and financing, but does not distinguish further. To collect this information would mean reviewing the financial models for all these schemes which would incur disproportionate costs.
Unitary payments on PFI schemes become payable when the scheme becomes operational. The first to do so was Queen Mary's hospital, Sidcup, which took its first patient at the end of March 2000; the most recent to open was St. George's in September 2003.
683W
Total unitary payments for PFI schemes which have reached financial close since 1997 in the four new London strategic health authorities £ million 2000–01 32,848 2001–02 51,813 2002–03 60,000 2003–04 (to date) 94,900