Health Services (Gloucestershire)

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, and I know that he shares my concerns. He makes the point well: the strategic health authority is in touch with the primary care trust and providing instructions—I nearly said guidance—but we do not know whether they are correct. If we go by what the Secretary of State says—and that is in writing—the SHA’s interpretation is wide of the mark. I hope that the Minister will clarify the situation. I reiterate that the trusts should balance their books, but how long have they been given to do it? If it can be done over a slightly longer period, the cuts might not be necessary. I wish to make a further point about top-slicing. The PCT covering most of my area in Cheltenham and Tewkesbury was actually in surplus last year. However, it is cutting front-line services to help to balance the books of others. That, it seems, is the penalty for achieving better financial management. As if that were not bad enough, the Government are forcing the Gloucestershire trusts to bail out the others under the same SHA to tune of more than £6 million. In her statement last week, the Secretary of State said that"““that money will not be lost to those communities. It will be repaid, normally in the three-year allocations period.””" However, she went on to say:"““I have stressed to the health authorities that the areas with the greatest health needs should be repaid first””.—[Official Report, 7 June 2006; Vol. 447, c. 254.]" So Gloucestershire will actually lose that money, and if the hospitals are closed anyway they are not likely to re-open within that three-year period.