§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the impact of restrictions placed by Customs and Excise on(a) the ability of the NHS bodies to recover value added tax retrospectively on contracted-out services on the budgets of NHS trusts and (b) the use of external services within the NHS; and what assessment he has made of the losses which will be incurred in respect of these restrictions by NHS trusts in Scotland. [2341]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonHM Customs and Excise has extended the deadline for NHS bodies to submit retrospective claims for VAT refunds on contracted out services. There should be no effect on the use of external services. It is not feasible to assess whether any VAT will remain unrecovered.