To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether any account will be taken of projected land sales in determining his Department's annual level of contribution to each health authority in Wales (a) in 1990–91, (b) in 1991–92 and (c) in subsequent years.

At present, district health authorities in Wales benefit from the proceeds of surplus land and buildings, unless the facilities become surplus as a consequence of a centrally funded development. In these cases, the receipts are used to offset the cost of the development. No account is taken of the expected level of receipts in determining each health authority's ,share of capital funds, and authorities which are able to realise land sales have therefore benefited directly by the amounts raised enabling them to develop and improve health services. These arrangements, including the treatment of the receipts from surplus mental handicap and mental illness hospitals which should contribute to the development of alternative patterns of care, are described in the land transactions handbook.Under the new arrangements proposed for capital funding for introduction in 1992–93, after a transitional period all proceeds from sales will be retained centrally and used to contribute to the cost of new developments. This is intended to ensure that the benefits from such sales should be used wherever they provide the best return in terms of health gain or improved efficiency. These arrangements are described in the consultation paper "The Health Service in Wales Implementing the White Paper: Capital Allocations" and copies are in the Library of the House. Because of the volume of capital developments that is currently in the pipeline or otherwise committed, and the time taken to complete new developments, the proposed arrangements would be phased in over a number of years. These transitional arrangements and details of the way in which it is decided that the new system should work will be announced in due course. However, for 1991–92, the current arrangements will continue to apply.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of their land sales will be retained by health authorities in Wales (a) in 1990–91, (b) 1991–92 and (c) in 1992–93 and future financial years.

District health authorities are currently entitled to retain and use the proceeds from the sale of land and buildings no longer needed by the health service except in those cases where the property has become surplus as a result of a closure following the provision of a centrally funded scheme. In such cases proceeds are returned to the all-Wales provision. Most receipts are retained by health authorities. The proportion of proceeds retained by health authorities in any year will depend on the particular sales which are completed during that year about which it is not possible to speculate.These arrangements will continue in 1991–92. For 1992–93 and subsequent years, new arrangements for capital funding are in prospect. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to him today on that subject.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for each district health authority and special health authority in Wales for each of the last five years, 1985–86 to 1990–91, (a) the costs his Department considered in advance that the authority should achieve in efficiency savings, (b) the actual savings achieved and (c) the percentage of the previous year's (i) budget and (ii) actual expenditure represented by (a) and (b) in each case.

Financial targets in respect of efficiency savings to be achieved through cost improvement in the NHS in Wales were first introduced in 1989–90. Monitoring of health authorities' cost improvement programmes began in 1988. Estimates of the new recurrent savings achieved by district health authorities and the Welsh health common services authority in 1985–86, 1986–87 and 1987–88 are set out in the following table together with reported savings in 1988–89 and 1989–90 and the savings expected to be achieved in 1990–91. The cost improvement targets set for 1989–90 and 1990–91 are also shown. The equivalent information for the health promotion authority for Wales is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a list showing how much has been spent (a) by the Welsh Office itself and (b) by each health authority in Wales on training for the people recently appointed by him to the new health authority boards.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on 14 January 1991.