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NHS Deficits

I think it was a positive step. The hon. Gentleman will find ““Explaining NHS Deficits, 2003/04 – 2005/06”” on a Department of Health website. I do not think it has been published yet, but it appeared on 20 February. As it explains, the main reason for the deficits is the fact that in 2003-04, strategic health authorities were told that they could no longer move capital into revenue accounts, as the NHS had done for decades. Capital expenditure budgets were easy targets, because they were not as obvious as revenue budgets. When the practice stopped, the whole issue of deficits was brought to light. I hope the House accepts that I am not being partisan when I say that that was a brave decision for any Government to make. Sir Humphrey would say ““That was very brave, Minister.”” It brought the House, as well as the Government, into the debate on whether enough money was going into the system. In the past, SHAs had covered up overspend by ensuring that other parts of the NHS effectively underspent. It is possible that there was underspending in areas where there was more need—no doubt examples will be produced—but that was not the intention. The intention was to ensure that an NHS organisation’s budget was the property of that organisation, to serve its health community. Until two years ago, that was not the case because of the brokerage that was taking place. I am very pleased that it has ended.