§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance she is giving to London NHS trusts and district health authorities to help them resolve their debt problems.
§ Mr. MaloneAll national health service bodies are expected to operate within their income. However the two Thames regions are responsible for monitoring the financial performance of health authorities and NHS trusts in London and can provide short-term financial assistance where justified. The London implementation group also provides transitional support to NHS trusts in inner London.
The hon. Member may wish to contact Sir William Staveley, chairman of North Thames region, and Mr. William Wells, chairman of South Thames region for further information.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she is taking to control the re-employment in the NHS or by NHS trusts staff dismissed by previous NHS or NHS trust employers.
§ Mr. MaloneThe responsibility for recruitment and selection of staff is a matter for national health service employers. They are expected to follow good recruitment practices which include interviews, appropriate questioning about previous employment and career gaps, and taking up of references.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what limitations are placed on non-executive directors of NHS trusts obtaining top management posts in the same trust.
§ Mr. MaloneUnder Regulation 11(1)(e) of the National Health Service Trusts (Membership and Procedure) Regulations 1990, employees of any health service body are disqualified for appointment as chairman or non-executive director of an NHS trust.
786W
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the figures for debt or surplus for each London NHS trust and district health authority at the end of the last financial year.
§ Mr. SackvilleInformation on relevant health authorities is shown in the table. The information requested for national health service trusts will be available in December and placed in the Library.
Surplus/Deficit London District Health Authorities 1993–94 £000 Barnet DHA 756 Hillingdon DHA (185) Brent and Harrow DHA (560) Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow DHA 3,653 Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster DHA (2,331) Barking and Havering DHA (1,777) Redbridge and Waltham Forest DHA (535) East London and the City DHA 2,084 New River DHA 1,140 Camden and Islington DHA 1,479 Bexley DHA 5,101 Greenwich DHA (682) Bromley DHA (10) South East London DHA 15 Croydon Health CA 669 Wandsworth DHA 2,093 Merton and Sutton DHA (77) Kingston and Richmond DHA 232 Source:
Health Authority Annual Accounts.
Note:
(i) Figures include Surplus/Deficit of Directly Managed Units and Common Services Agencies.
(ii) Figures are provisional.
(iii) Bracketed figures indicate deficits.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the regulations on payments to NHS staff(a) in the case of redundancy (b) in the case of health retirements and (c) for dismissal; and what controls she plans to exercise over the behaviour of NHS trusts in similar circumstances.
§ Mr. MaloneRedundancy payments for national health service staff employed on national terms and conditions of service are governed by section 45 of the General Whitley Council handbook, copies of which are available in the Library. For staff employed on NHS trust terms and conditions of service redundancy payments are covered by their contractual terms.
Retirement on grounds of ill-health, for staff who are members of the NHS pension scheme, is governed by the NHS (Superannuation) Regulations.
Any payments for dismissal on grounds other than redundancy would be determined by the courts and industrial tribunals.
Guidance on the making of termination settlements to general and senior managers on short-term rolling contracts was given to health authorities in HSG(94)18 and to trusts in TEL(94)3, copies of which are available in the Library.
NHS trusts are free, under the terms of paragraph 16(1)(d) of schedule 2 to the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990, to employ staff on such terms as they think fit.