Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has plans to provide PFI relief to Barts Health NHS Trust.

Barts Health NHS Trust has been placed into the Financial Special Measures (FSM). This is a regulatory action, which uses NHS Improvement’s legal powers to require National Health Service providers to comply with its actions and/or expectations. Each NHS provider placed into FSM will undergo a rapid review, and agree a financial recovery plan. Specialist teams, led by an improvement director, will oversee intensive, accelerated action to bring about financial improvement including support from peer providers where appropriate.

Where trusts in FSM do require access to cash funding to continue the delivery of affordable, safe, quality healthcare, the Department’s interim funding regime ensures that providers in financial difficulty have timely access to cash financing to protect the continuity of services for patients. A new Financial Recovery Fund will be directly targeted at those trusts with the most financial need.