§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health on what grounds a formal application for National Health Service trust status will not be approved by his Department.
428W
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyNo units will apply for NHS trust status until Parliament has approved the necessary legislation. Each application will be considered by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State on an individual basis in the light of local circumstances, following consultation by the region.
§ Mr. Robin CookTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the Health Service units listed in his Department's press release 89/471 have now indicated that they do not wish to proceed with a first wave application for National Health Service trust status.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyAs my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State indicated in press release 89/471, formal applications for NHS trust status will not be invited until Parliament has given approval to the necessary legislation. It will be only at this stage that the number of units applying for trust status in April 1991 will be known.
I understand that five of the original 79 units intending to prepare draft applications for NHS trust status in 1991 have indicated that they may wish to develop their application over a longer time scale. However, I also understand that a number of other units have since indicated that they may prepare draft applications for trust status in 1991.