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NHS: Debts

Volume 494: debated on Monday 15 June 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much bad debt has cost NHS foundation trusts in each year since 2004-05. (278487)

We are advised by the chairman of Monitor, the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts, that bad debt as an operating expense is reported in the Consolidated Accounts for NHS Foundation Trusts. This report is produced annually by Monitor and laid before Parliament. Copies of each report are available from Monitor's website:

www.monitor-nhsft.gov.uk/

A summary of available figures on bad debt is set out in the following table.

Number of foundation trusts

Operating expenses: bad debt (£ million)

2004-05

25

8.9

2005-06

32

28.1

2006-07

59

21.5

2007-08

89

17.4

Total

75.9

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what requirements there are upon (a) his Department and (b) the Government to hold equity equivalent to the debt of NHS trusts; (279201)

(2) what methodology his Department uses to account for the (a) actual and (b) potential debt of NHS trusts and foundation trusts.

All debt owed to the Department by a national health service trust or NHS foundation trust is recorded as assets on the Department's balance sheet equal to the liability in the NHS trust accounts.

Where the debt owed to the Department is in the form of a loan this is further disclosed in notes to the Department's accounts.