§ 42. Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he is satisfied with the financial control exercised by Gwynedd health authority in each of the two most recent financial years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GristSubject to submission of the authority's accounts for 1989–90, it would appear that the authority has continued to keep its cash spending within the sums allotted by my right hon. Friend. However, it would also appear from reports received from the authority that its underlying financial position, as measured in terms of the balance between its income and expenditure in accruals terms, is once again deteriorating, following the limited progress which was made towards restoring financial balance during 1987–88 and 1988–89. This is, of course,288W disappointing; but my right hon. Friend will not be in a position to comment more substantially on the authority's performance in exercising financial control until (i) the authority has had an opportunity to consider the results of the study which its general manager is currently undertaking with the assistance of management consultants, (ii) the authority's response to that study has been discussed with Welsh Office officials as part of the next round of annual performance reviews and (iii) the statutory auditor's audit of the authority's 1989–90 accounts has been completed.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions his Department has had with Gwynedd health authority concerning the effects of the recent secretarial strike on the delivery of services in the county; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GristThe effect of the secretarial strike on the delivery of health services in Gwynedd is a matter for the district health authority and Welsh Office officials have not been in discussion on this aspect.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in theOfficial Report the amount of capital expenditure on new facilities by Gwynedd health authority in 1988–89, 1989–90 and the projected level for such spending in 1990–91.
§ Mr. David HuntThe information is not centrally available in the form requested since neither the annual accounts nor the 10-year capital programmes prepared by health authorities provide expenditure figures under the heading of "new facilities".
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a list of the repayable loans made by the Welsh Office to Gwynedd health authority over the past five years indicating for each such loan the sum involved, the period for repayment and the interest charged.
§ Mr. David HuntThe information requested is as follows:
Date of loan Amount of loan £ million Date repaid 1985–86 0.200 1986–87 1986–87 — — 1987–88 1.450 1988–89 1988–89 0.738 1989–90 1989–90 — — No interest was charged on any of these loans.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the terms of reference given to the current team of consultants appointed by the Welsh Office to study the problem facing Gwynedd health authority; and by what date they are required to present their report.
§ Mr. GristIn common with other district health authorities in Wales, Gwynedd has been asked to submit a pathfinder procurement plan in June and has commissioned management consultants to help it prepare this plan. Together with other health authorities, Gwynedd has secured a measure of Welsh Office funding for this exercise.
In addition to the procurement plan project, Gwynedd health authority has asked the management consultants to 289W assist in its review of its finances and services. I understand that the authority's report on the outcome of the review is likely to be considered by its members in June.
As the study is being carried out by Gwynedd health authority, details of its management consultants' terms of reference should be obtained from the DHA.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales by what date Gwynedd health authority was due to attain a financial balance following the Welsh Office consultant's investigation undertaken in 1987; and if he will make a statement on progress to date.
§ Mr. David HuntThe action plan which was drawn up by the general manager of the authority early in 1988 with the help of the management consultants, Deloitte, Haskins and Sells was aimed at bringing the authority back into financial balance by 1991–92. This action plan remains the basic strategy for the financial restructuring of the authority. However, in view of the length of time taken to realise some of the planned savings associated with service rationalisation measures within the action plan, some slippage on this target would seem inevitable. The question of a revised target date will be considered in due course in the light of the review of the authority's financial position which is currently being undertaken by the authority with the assistance of management consultants.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the(a) revenue budget and (b) capital budget allocated by the Welsh Office to Gwynedd health authority for each of the years 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89 and 1989–90; and for each year what was the actual revenue and capital expenditure of the authority.
§ Mr. David HuntThe information requested is as follows:
Revenue cash limit £ million Revenue charge against cash limit £ million Capital cash limit £ million Capital charge against cash limit1 £ million 1986–87 49.905 49.903 1.388 1.389 1987–88 55.855 55.841 3.433 3.434 1988–89 62.614 62.637 1.860 1.859 1989–90 65.436 262.397 2.829 22.829 1Source: Health Authority Annual Accounts 2Source: Form FIS(HA)2 Cumulative Cash Flow Statement for period ending March 1990.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions during the past 12 months a minister of his Department has(a) visited Gwynedd for purposes related to Gwynedd health authority or (b) met the chairman or members of Gwynedd health authority at a location other than in Gwynedd.
§ Mr. GristMinisters have met the chairman of the authority on four occasions during the last 12 months in London and south Wales. In addition, senior officials of the Welsh Office have visited and met the authority's chairman and officers frequently, and briefed me comprehensively on the key issues involved.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether his Department approved the discontinuation by Gwynedd health authority of the nursing surveillance service.
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