§ Mr. BrazierTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the payment to overcome exceptional circumstances referred to in his July announcement on the future of East Kent Hospitals and in his Minister of State's letter to the hon. Member for Canterbury is a grant or a loan. [130350]
§ Ms Rosie Winterton[holding answer 16 September 2003]Kent and Medway Strategic Health Authority has been told by the NHS Bank to assume the one-off payment of £17 million in respect of East Kent Hospitals is recoverable from future primary care trust allocations after the current planning round.