Conclusion 18

Tenants were not always fully charged for rent and services before NHS Property Services took on ownership. Initially, the Department agreed that to begin with NHS Property Services would charge tenants in the same way as the previous owners, primary care trusts and strategic health authorities. In practice, this meant tenants would only be charged 60% of their total charges with the remaining 40% being charged to commissioners. These arrangements have largely been withdrawn over time, but current levels of subsidy are not known.36 Some tenants have cited affordability as an issue for their unwillingness to pay bills, and this may be linked to the withdrawal of subsidies. The Department told us that one of the reasons that it moved away from replicating exactly what primary care trusts and strategic health authorities had done previously, to a more commercial market rental system for all, was to ensure fairness. However, it accepts that the current system can lead to unfairness and that it needs to work with commissioners on a case-by-case basis to ensure fairness.37 34 C&AG’s Report, para 1.3 35 Q 55 36 Q 101; Written evidence from NHS Clinical Commissioners (NPS0005); C&AG’s Report, para 1.5 37 Q 101; C&AG’s Report, Figure 12 NHS Property Services 13