§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what were the grounds for the decision to end the central negotiations between his Department and the major banks over health authority banking in favour of health authorities making their own arrangements.
§ Mr. NewtonBanking needs vary considerably from one health authority to another and depend upon local payment practices and the location of the hospital sites. The centrally negotiated tariff covered all National Health Service business and did not necessarily represent the most cost effective solution to meeting the needs of individual authorities.
The termination of the central tariff negotiation arrangements, making health authorities responsible for establishing local arrangements with banks, follows the general principle of making authorities responsible, wherever possible, for the local management of their own services. The new arrangements will allow authorities to retain any savings achieved from the re-organisation of their banking needs to provide better value for money. The change was made following discussion with regional treasurers.