Top-up Fees

HC Deb 12 January 2004 vol 416 cc623-4W

Dr. Murrison

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether foundation hospitals will be permitted to pay the(a) tuition and (b) top-up fees of recruits. [144394]

Mr. Hutton

[holding answer 17 December 2003]: National health service foundation trusts, like all NHS trusts, would in principle have the power to pay both the tuition and top-up fees of recruits. It would be up to each NHS foundation trust as to whether and in what circumstances to do so. Section 18(1) of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act gives NHS foundation trusts the power to do anything which appears to it to be necessary or desirable for the purposes of or in connection with its functions.