§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if his Department will reimburse health authorities for their expenditure in meeting the unpaid bills passed to them from the Disablement Services Authority when it was disbanded in April 1991;
(2) how much of its unspent budget for the year 1990–91 the Disablement Services Authority returned for the year 1990–91 to the Department; when the Disablement Services Authority requested the money to be returned; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. DorrellThe Disablement Services Authority notified the Department in February 1991 of a forecast cash underspend of some £5 million on its income and expenditure account for 1990–91. That sum was transferred from class XIII, vote 3—Department of Health, administration, miscellaneous health services and personal social services, England—which included provision for the authority, to class XIII, vote 1—hospital and community health services, family health services (part) and other services (England)—in the revised spring supplementary estimates presented on 28 February 1991.
In late March 1991, the authority notified the Department that it had received invoices which it wished to settle prior to its dissolution. The sum of £1 million was made available to the authority to assist it to settle some of those accounts.
In August 1991 health authorities were allocated some £3 million to meet unpaid bills inherited from the authority that extended beyond the normal period of credit. This is in addition to the £111 million revenue resources allocated to health authorities in 1991–92 for disablement services.