§ Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those hospitals which he considers eligible for National Health Service hospital trust status as set out in the White Paper, "Working for Patients".
§ Mr Kenneth Clarke[holding answer 9 February 19891]: Any hospital which meets the criteria in chapter 3 of the White Paper would be eligible. I do not understand why the hon. Member recently produced a list, readily and publicly available, of the 320 largest acute hospitals in the NHS and claimed that they were the only eligible hospitals.
§ Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether National Health Service hospital trusts will be allowed to buy their interest-bearing debt from the Government.
§ Mr. Kenneth Clarke[holding answer 9 February 19891: I propose that National Health Service hospital trusts will be given an interest-bearing debt equal to the value of their initial assets. The terms, including repayment provisions, will be set by the Government at the time.
§ Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether hospitals currently under special health authorities will be eligible for status as a National Health Service trust.
§ Mr. Kenneth Clarke[holding answer 9 February 1989]: Yes, if they meet the criteria in the White Paper "Working for Patients".