§ Lord WarnerMy right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Health (Dr John Reid) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
The chairman of Monitor (whose statutory name is the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts) announced on 4 January 2005 that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003, Monitor authorised the following NHS trusts as NHS foundation trusts from 1 January 2005, as part of its first group in wave 1A:
- Barnsley District General Hospitals NHS Trust
- Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Royal Hospitals NHS Trust
- Harrogate Healthcare NHS Trust
- South Tyneside Healthcare NHS Trust
- Monitor also authorised Gateshead Health NHS Trust as an NHS foundation trust from 5 January 2005.
Monitor has deferred consideration of the applications from two trusts:
- Southend Hospital NHS Trust
- West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust
Further decisions on both trusts may be made at a later date by Monitor.
Two applicants withdrew their applications in order to undertake further preparation and with the intention of re-applying at a later stage:
- Nottingham City Hospitals NHS Trust
- Burton Hospitals NHS Trust
A copy of Monitor's press notice was placed in the Library.
Monitor's announcement brings the total number of NHS foundation trusts to 25. Monitor is considering a second group of 10 applicants in wave 1A for authorisation from 1 April 2005.