§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when the last revaluation of plant and equipment employed by his Department was carried out; and what plant and equipment asset replacement charges are incurred by his Department.
§ Mr. FreemanThe Department of Health, like most other Government Departments, operates cash-based systems which enable Parliament to be satisfied that amounts of cash voted to be spent on certain activities have been so spent. There has therefore been no overall need, apart from those limited areas where repayment transactions are conducted, to maintain comprehensive up-to-date valuations of plant and equipment, the purchase cost of which is tightly controlled through the cash accounting system and plant and equipment asset replacement charges are often not entered in the accounts.
For the NHS a valuation of all assets owned by the NHS, including plant and equipment, will be unertaken later this year as part of the preparation for the proposed introduction of a capital charging system.