Clause 21 - Fees
Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill
6:30 pm
Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon, Conservative)
I hope that my hon. Friend the Member for West Chelmsford does not mind me asking a couple of questions in support of his argument. This is an interesting amendment to an interesting clause. I want to probe the Minister a little. Will the fees paid to the regulator replace any fees that hospitals currently pay to the centre? My concern throughout the Bill has been that rather than setting the hospital trusts free, we might be adding bureaucracy and costs to them.
Is it the case that the entire cost of running the regulator's office will come from the foundation trust? Perhaps it says so in the guide and I have missed it. Can the Minister confirm that that is the intention, or will there be additional money from the centre to run the office; top-up fees to pay for part of the services or something of that nature?
Will the Minister give a ballpark figure for the hospital trusts being set up next year? Some thought must have gone into the matter. What kind of annual fee are we talking about; £1,000 a year, £10,000 a year or £100,000 a year? I have no feel for the figures from the document in front of me. Has the Minister given
thought to the matter, have there been discussions and do the applicant trusts know the fee they are likely to pay?