Sir Simon Burns corrected the Commons record on NHS: Negligence
Sir Simon Burns made the correction and printed in Hansard's Written Corrections on 1 February 2011. The correction replaced 2 figures (247,280,762, 466,799,784) with 2 figures (247,280,763, 251,308,931). Altogether 10 words differ between the two versions.
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has paid to patients in ex-gratia payments to avoid ligation proceedings in each of the last three years. Letter of correction from Mr Simon Burns: An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Isle of Wight (Mr Turner) on 18 January 2011. Unfortunately two of the figures in the table were incorrect. The answer given was as follows:
Original and corrected words
Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.
| Original | Corrected |
|---|---|
| HM Treasury consider ex-gratia payments to be a form of special payment. HM Treasury’s definition includes personal injury claims that are settled out of court. Information about local ex-gratia payments made by the national health service to patients to avoid litigation is not held centrally. Local NHS bodies record ‘losses and special payments’ in their consolidated accounts and these will include all ex-gratia payments, not just those paid to patients or to avoid litigation. The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) records data held centrally specifically on ex-gratia payments made for clinical, employer and public liability claims settled out of court. As the NHSLA settles the vast majority of its claims this way, they fall under HM Treasury’s definition of ex-gratia. Data provided by the NHSLA will cover payments to patients, although some will be made to families/dependants, employees and visitors. Data on actual payments made each year can be provided only at disproportionate cost. The NHSLA has therefore supplied data in the following table which shows the total amount of damages paid on claims settled out of court where the claim was closed between 2007-10. It should be noted that some actual payments for these claims may have been made in earlier years to when the claim was closed. £ | Clinical liability | Employer and public liability | Total amount paid 2007-08 | 225,023,267 | 22,257,496 | 2008-09 | 196,195,332 | 23,323,690 | 219,519,022 2009-10 | 230,996,377 | 20,312,554 | The correct answer should have been: | HM Treasury consider ex-gratia payments to be a form of special payment. HM Treasury’s definition includes personal injury claims that are settled out of court. Information about local ex-gratia payments made by the national health service to patients to avoid litigation is not held centrally. Local NHS bodies record ‘losses and special payments’ in their consolidated accounts and these will include all ex-gratia payments, not just those paid to patients or to avoid litigation. The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) records data held centrally specifically on ex-gratia payments made for clinical, employer and public liability claims settled out of court. As the NHSLA settles the vast majority of its claims this way, they fall under HM Treasury’s definition of ex-gratia. Data provided by the NHSLA will cover payments to patients, although some will be made to families/dependants, employees and visitors. Data on actual payments made each year can be provided only at disproportionate cost. The NHSLA has therefore supplied data in the following table which shows the total amount of damages paid on claims settled out of court where the claim was closed between 2007-10. It should be noted that some actual payments for these claims may have been made in earlier years to when the claim was closed. £ | Clinical liability | Employer and public liability | Total amount paid 2007-08 | 225,023,267 | 22,257,496 | 247,280,763 2008-09 | 196,195,332 | 23,323,690 | 219,519,022 2009-10 | 230,996,377 | 20,312,554 | 251,308,931 |
More on Sir Simon Burns.
Receipt
| Read from | https://hansard-api.parliament.uk/debates/debate/11020161000003.json |
|---|---|
| Date read | 15 October 2026 |
| SHA-256 | 29535990d21ba924819f43f78e9448a795dd9330f54b37475df25d3d5fb9f208 |