Mr. Bernard Gloster:

To be fair, I am not going to stray into NTPF negotiations; that is its task. Our task is to pay out, under the nursing home support scheme, to nursing homes based on the rate that is set by the NTPF. On the operation of our own public units, it is well reported, documented and rehearsed over many years that there is a difference in the cost of a bed in a public nursing home as opposed to a private nursing home. I would say three things in relation to that. The first is that we operate, most likely in many cases, at a higher staffing level. The second is that our staff are all public servants and their salary scales are set by Government, along with their terms and conditions. The third, which I accept that some private operators will dispute, is that in my not insignificant experience, I would say that our level of dependency and the level of care needs of people in public nursing homes is, on balance, higher than that in many - but not all - private nursing homes.