§ Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects district health authorities and any National Health Service self-governing hospitals to be paying market rates of interest under the proposals on his capital charges working paper on the National Health Service on their land building and equipment; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorThe rate of interest used in the calculation of capital charges will be set in line with the discount rate for the non-trading part of the public sector. The Chief Secretary recently announced that this rate will be 6 per cent. The capital charges scheme will not apply to 615W self-governing hospitals. Self-governing hospitals will have an intitial debt equal to the value of the capital assets transferred; the total arrangements for servicing the capital of self-governing hospitals will be consistent with the capital charging scheme.