§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the criteria he will use in exercising his discretion over subsidies to hospitals will be the same for foundation and non-foundation trusts. [132146]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 14 October 2003]: To the extent that any public funds are made available for any central initiative from the Department (for example, implementation of national service framework initiatives) national health service foundation trusts should have access to an equitable proportion of those funds, whatever the actual source.
This is why we are taking powers, under Section 11 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill, to ensure that the Secretary of State is able to make loans, issue Public Dividend Capital or grants when providing financial assistance to NHS foundation trusts. These powers mirror the equivalent legislative provisions applying to NHS trusts.