§ Mr. Anthony Grantasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in the interests of better management and day-to-day accountability, he will take steps to ensure that costs in the National Health Service are assessed for individual services in such a way as to enable managers of hospital cleaning services to compare their performance with other hospitals of similar type and with contractors providing the same service.
§ Sir George YoungAnnual costing returns sent to the Department by health authorities enable comparisons to be made between hospitals of a similar type and between types of hospitals on the basis of unit costs. In analysing these a separate component for domestic and cleaning services is identified. The scope of the services provided and other relevant factors requiring a local knowledge must be taken into account in making valid comparisons of the costs of different hospitals or with those of contractors. I should be glad to see health448W reservation; and what was the outcome of those accidents in terms of personal injury and death.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe information is set out in the table below:
authorities examining, in the light of such local knowledge, what savings might result from the greater use of contractors.