§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost of administration of the foundation hospital governance system. [157593]
§ Mr. HuttonThe cost of administration of the governance system for each National Health Service foundation trust will depend on a number of factors, including the size of the membership. Experience of other membership organisations suggests that the cost of establishing and maintaining a membership base of 5,000 people is likely to be around £2.25 per member per annum. For NHS foundation trusts, these costs will not be entirely additional as they will replicate some current activity that trusts are already doing around informing the public, patients and staff about issues affecting each trust.