§ Mr. Nicholas Edwardsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress has been made in working out proposals to give health authorities a more direct financial interest in land holdings and land transactions, as foreshadowed in Cmnd. 5055.
§ Sir K. JosephAgreement has now been reached that the proceeds of additional sales of hospital land in England, in excess of the amount currently estimated for public expenditure purposes, will be made available to the hospital capital programme. Capital allocations to regional hospital boards will contain a supplement to the standard allocation that will match over a period the amount obtained by sales of hospital land within their areas.
This arrangement will begin to operate in the financial year 1973–74, but later will apply, subject to the approval by Parliament of current legislation, to the new regional health authorities and to all National Health Service land. At the same time land purchases will be treated as part of the capital programme thus giving a direct choice between purchase of land and buildings and new construction and other capital items. Much of the work of land transactions will be delegated to the new authorities.
I look to these new arrangements to promote more active property management by the new authorities without making additional demands on public expenditure, since greater regard will be paid to land acquisition costs in considering alternative development proposals, and more attention will be paid 408W to the release of land especially where it is valuable enough to make a substantial contribution on sale to the rationalisation and development of the health service.
My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales will be introducing similar arrangements with such differences as are needed to suit the new administrative systems that will operate in Scotland and Wales from 1st April 1974.