§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health under what powers, and for what purposes, a grant of £5,000 was made to the NHS Trust Federation.
§ Mr. Sackville[holding answer 11 January 1994]: I understand that the payment was made to the National Health Service Trust Federation to contribute towards its development costs. There was no statutory authority for such a payment, and the federation has repaid the money to the Department.
§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is normal practice for her Department to operate a clawback procedure where grant-aided organisations generate surpluses in years in which they are grant aided; and whether such a condition applies to the grant of £5,000 made to the NHS Trust Federation.
§ Mr. Sackville[holding answer 11 January 1994]: The Department encourages the voluntary organisations which it grant aids to seek additional sources of income. Grants are not necessarily withdrawn or reduced because a voluntary organisation makes a surplus in a particular year, but the Department expressly reserves the right to discontinue a grant and to recover it if it is not used for the purpose for which it is given. The payment to the trust federation, which is not grant aided by the Department, was made without statutory authority and has since been recovered.