Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the interest rate is for 2015-16 (a) revolving and (b) rolling maturity interim revenue support loans to each NHS hospital trust; and what that interest rate was at the start of each of those loans.

Details of loans issued in 2016/17 will be available once the audit of the Department’s accounts has been concluded. Full details of all finance issued by the Department is published alongside the accounts.

The interest rate for any Revolving Working Capital Facility or Revenue Support Loan made by the Department to each National Health Service trust in 2015/16 is shown in the attached table. This data includes both interim and normal course of business loans made. Normal course of business loans are financing arrangement available to all NHS trusts and foundation trusts based on their ability to service the debt requested. Interim loans represent financial support to providers in order to meet their liabilities.

The Department does not issue variable rate loans. The interest rate is fixed for the full term of the loan.

In assessing the impact of the interest rate, consideration must be given to the consequential impact of the debt of the payment of the public dividend capital.