Sixth report from the Select Committee on Estimates : together with the minutes of evidence taken before sub-committee D and appendices, session 1956-1957: Running costs of hospitals.
- Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Estimates
- Date:
- [1957]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Sixth report from the Select Committee on Estimates : together with the minutes of evidence taken before sub-committee D and appendices, session 1956-1957: Running costs of hospitals. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![29 January, 1957.] [Continued. capital schemes have been paid for out of these funds. Chairman. 121. In many cases they are regarded as a source of income outside Parlia- ment’s or the Minister’s control which the organisation in question is free to spend as it likes?———On hospital purposes or on research. The Act pre- scribes the broad purposes on which they must be spent, but——— 122. To what extent does the Endow- ment Fund enable the Exchequer grant to be reduced? I think the answer to that, Sir, would be not at all. The intention of Parliament, as I understand it, was in 1948—and since as carried out by the successive Ministers—to allow these Endowment Funds to be used by the hospitals as they think fit to supple- ment the Exchequer funds available. 123. With regard to paragraph 10 (bd), you are referring there to charges. How do the amenity bed payments compare with the actual extra cost incurred? (Mr. Marre.) I do not think anybody has ever assessed the extra cost of these beds by comparison with other beds in the same hospital. 124. It is notional? Yes. I think it would be probably an almost impossible task to do. 125. How are the Section 5 bed charges calculated on a local or regional or national basis? Those are calcu- lated on the basis of the costs of the pay-beds at the hospital itself where that cost can be separately ascertained, as when the pay-beds are in a separate block; or where that cannot be separately ascertained it is based on an arbitrary formula taking the cost of an ordinary bed in that hospital and adding a percentage to allow for the fact that the cost of a bed in a single room or a small ward is more expensive. 126. It is less notional than amenity beds, but still to some extent notional? Still to some extent notional, yes. 127. Turning to 10 (d), what does that really mean? Does it really mean that there is no real superannuation fund at all? There is no real superannuation fund at all. The superannuation con- tributions are used in relief of the Exchequer, and in return the Exchequer mecis all benefits that become due. 128. Why is that? Is that laid down in the original Act, or is it an admini- strative practice? No, that is the effect of the 1946 Act, and it follows the pattern of the teachers’ superannuation scheme where again contributions are used in relief of the Education Vote and benefit paid out of the Education Vote. 129. That is a precedent for it?—— That is a precedent for it. Mrs. Aill. _ 130. What is the amount of contribu- tion? At the moment, employers and employees, about £26 million. 131. What percentage of that amount does the employee pay? £26 million is the amount of the contributions paid by all employing bodies and officers in all parts of the Service, and not simply the hospital service. Hospital service contributions are about £17 million out of the £26 million. The employers contribute 8 per cent. of remunerations, the employees 6 per cent., except for domestic staff, where the contributions are 6 per cent. and 5S per cent. These are exceptions. Chairman. 132. Turning now to paragraph 12, at what moment in the year are the Com- mittees’ budgets approved by the Boards? Could I give you the time- table from the beginning, if I may? At the end of September Hospital Manage- ment Committees submit their forecasts to the Boards. The Boards collate those forecasts, discuss them with the Com- mittees as necessary, and submit to us a regional forecast at the end of Novem- ber. Our aim is, after examining those forecasts, after discussing them with the Boards and discussing them with the Treasury 133. May I interrupt? You are just dealing with the Regional Boards at this time? At that time we are only deal- ing with the Regional Boards. We do not deal direct with the Management Committees at all on this. The Regional Board’s forecast for the whole region comes to us at the end of November, we examine those forecasts, discuss, if necessary, with the regions, discuss with the Treasury, normally reference to Ministers is then made and Ministers decide the total. At the beginning of February we inform the Regional Board how much is available for their region for the forthcoming financial year. They](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32182466_0042.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
