§ 36. Mr. SimsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to encourage health authorities to take advantage of unconventional financing hospital building schemes as envisaged in paragraph 9:14 of "Working for Patients"; how many such schemes have been proposed to, and approved by, him; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanAs stated in the White Paper "Working for Patients" the Government welcome any proposals which make imaginative use of the private sector's skills, including financing, which can result in the more cost-effective and quicker development of new and existing services. The key factor, however, is to ensure that best value for money is achieved through the use of such finance, and the Department has recently issued guidance to health authorities on the procedures to be followed where private sector finance is involved.
It is for health authorities to demonstrate the best value for money can be achieved through the use of private sector finance. To date I have received only one substantive case, for a district general hospital development at Bromley, in which use of private sector finance may be cost effective. Approval has therefore been given for the authority to proceed to the first stage of a competitive tendering exercise to establish the relative costs of this approach before final approval can be given.