§ Mr. BurdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health which existing private finance initiative contracts in the National Health Service provide for the automatic transfer of assets back to his Department after the expiry of the contract or for his Department to have first right of refusal to buy back the units after the expiry of the contract; and if he will make a statement. [89873]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 5 July 1999]: For all the first wave of prioritised major private finance initiative schemes any leasehold interest held by the private sector partner will either "fall away" at the end of the contract period or the National Health Service trust can exercise an option to take back the leasehold interest, in both cases returning full ownership of the asset to the NHS trust. This principle is set out in NHS Executive guidance on the PFI and will be followed by all subsequent schemes.