§ Mr. RaffanTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the progress being made by the Welsh Health Common Services Authority in relation to the disputes arising from design and construction faults in the buildings of Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor.
§ Mr. GristI am pleased to be able to report to the House that an out-of-court settlement has been reached between the Welsh Health Common Services Authority and the Hospital Design Consortium in the main dispute over the cost of rectifying design faults in the hospital building. Under the terms of the settlement, the Hospital Design Consortium has paid damages of almost £5.3 million and has waived outstanding fees due on the main hospital and residential building contracts currently estimated at £600,000. Judgment in the Welsh Health Common Services Authority's action against Haden Young Ltd. claiming £190,000 for fire damage alleged to have been caused by the negligence of the defendant employees was given in favour of Haden Young Ltd. However a proportion of this claim was met under the main settlement with the Hospital Design Consortium.
The dispute with IDC Ltd. remains unresolved. The Welsh Health Common Services Authority has withheld £130,000 from IDC to pay for remedial work to windows and cavities. Further remedial work may be needed to repair defective wall ties in the residential buildings and to modify some staircase balustrades. Under the terms of the main settlement, the defendants now agree to assist the Welsh Health Common Services Authority in the action necessary to bring these matters to a conclusion.