§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to approve the governance arrangements of the first wave of foundation hospitals. [145194]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 provides for national health service trusts to submit their applications for NHS foundation trust status to the Independent Regulator. The Independent Regulator must be satisfied that the applicant's constitution is in accordance with Schedule 1 of the Health and Social Care Act 2003 before granting an authorisation.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance his Department will offer foundation hospitals in developing(a) ethical and (b) environmental, (i) investment, (ii) banking and (iii) procurement policies. [145716]
601W
§ Mr. HuttonNational Health Service foundation trusts will develop their own investment, banking and procurement policies, subject to any conditions set by the Independent Regulator in their terms of authorisation. NHS foundation trusts will not be subject to directions from the Department, but they will be able to continue to access guidance and best practice developed or disseminated by the Department and its agencies, including NHS Estates and the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice has been given to trusts seeking foundation status on(a) building up an active membership and (b) demonstrating their understanding of mutual organisations. [146546]
§ Mr. HuttonDepartment of Health officials are working with the first wave of applicants for national health service foundation trust status on membership issues, which includes holding regular meetings with the trusts. The advice given at the meetings includes significant input from the mutual sector both on building an active membership and developing a better understanding of the mutual sector. This is supported by a comprehensive source book, "NHS Foundation Trusts—A guide to the governance arrangements", which was developed with advice from a group of external experts on governance.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is issued to NHS Trusts on the disposal of NHS assets; and what changes are proposed as a result of foundation status being achieved. [1465471]
§ Mr. HuttonGuidance on the disposal of surplus national health service property assets is contained in the Department's "Estatecode", a copy of which is available in the Library. Guidance on the accounting treatment for disposals of assets is contained in the NHS "Capital Accounting Manual", which is publicly available on the Department's web-site at www.doh.gov.uk.
Section 16 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 prevents NHS foundation trusts from disposing of NHS property designated as protected without the approval of the
602W
Single-handed unrestricted principals and equivalents (UPEs)1 by strategic health authority England Numbers (headcount) 1998 1999 2000 UPE partners hips of which: single-handed UPE partners hips of which: single-handed UPE partners hips of which: single-handed England total 8,994 2,683 8,944 2,631 8,878 2,485 Number of UPEs 27,392 27,591 27,704 North 2,708 812 2,697 803 2,679 796 Northumberland, Tyne & Wear 243 56 239 54 238 52 Country Durham & Tees Valley 176 50 171 41 166 37 North & East Yorkshire & Northern 273 70 268 69 263 69 Lincolnshire West Yorkshire 378 110 382 114 377 110 Cumbria & Lancashire 386 128 385 127 379 125 Greater Manchester 581 219 577 210 579 213 Cheshire & Merseyside 438 117 442 122 445 125 South Yorkshire 233 62 233 66 232 65 Independent Regulator. The Independent Regulator will be issuing guidance on this to NHS foundation trusts.