Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department took to monitor the financial viability of Four Seasons Healthcare before that company entered administration; and whether NHS contracts were awarded to that company after financial health warnings were issued; and if he will make a statement.

Four Seasons Health Care Group has been going through financial restructuring negotiations since December 2017. The announcement that the Group will be entering an independent sales process, facilitated by the appointment of administrators to the business’ two debt holding companies, marks the next stage in what has been a complex and protracted process. At no point in this process were warnings regarding the financial health of the company issued. The administration appointment and planned sales process will bring greater certainty to those in care, their families, and the 22,000 people employed by the company.

The Care Quality Commission’s Market Oversight regulatory responsibility is to advise local authorities if they believe that there will be likely service cessation as a result of business failure. They have been monitoring the company’s position and will continue to do so until the sale is completed. They are clear that there is no risk to continuity of care at this time.

Details of individual contracts held by local National Health Service organisations with private providers are not held centrally. It is the responsibility of the local NHS to check the financial viability of their service providers.

A Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS1532) on the position of Four Seasons Healthcare Group was laid before the House on Wednesday 1 May 2019.