Will the Minister provide an outline repayment schedule for each health board that has received assistance via the additional cash support as mentioned in the NHS finance statement on 12 June 2019 over the last 3 financial years and outline what rate of interest the repayments will be subject to?
The additional cash support provided to health boards for 2017-18 and 2018-19, and the cumulative amount provided as at 31st March 2019, is detailed in the table below:
LHB Repayable Cash Support
|
|
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
|
Cumulative as at 31st March 2019 |
|
|
£m |
£m |
|
£m |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Abertawe Bro Morgannwg |
30.5 |
8.0 |
|
63.3 |
|
Betsi Cadwaladr |
35.1 |
39.0 |
|
114.7 |
|
Cardiff and Vale |
25.4 |
9.3 |
|
54.8 |
|
Hywel Dda |
60.8 |
31.3 |
|
161.0 |
No amounts have been agreed to be provided for 2019-20 at this stage.
The cash support has been provided to ensure that the organisations commitments, in terms of paying staff salaries and suppliers, can be met despite their overspending against budgets. The Welsh Government’s primary objective is to support these organisations to improve their financial stability, and I am pleased that I was able to confirm that three organisations reported an improved position in 2018-19 compared to the previous year, and I expect further improvement in 2019-20.
Whilst organisations are on this trajectory of improvement, it would not be appropriate to destabilise them financially by requiring repayments of cash support, and so no repayment schedules have been determined at this stage. As the cash to provide this support has all been managed within the ambit budget for the Health and Social Services Main Expenditure Group, I do not intend to charge interest for the support.