Farron: 'NHS confidential pay off deals must end'

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has called for an end to NHS confidentiality deals such as those used at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT).

UHMBT and its former chief executive, Tony Halsall, signed a confidentiality deal when Mr Halsall stepped down in February 2012.

The deal prevents the disclosure of details of his departure, including whether he worked his six-month notice period and whether he was paid for it. The trust's interim chairman, Sir David Henshaw, told the North West Evening Mail that such agreements are common in both the public and private sectors and are "part of the legal structure of this country".

Tim has written to the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt MP, and asked him to write to every NHS Trust in the country and instruct them to not use these deals.

Tim said: "I have written to the Secretary of State for Health and asked him to outlaw these confidentially deals. When massive pay packages are revealed in Private Eye it only goes to underline how silly these rules are and how they must be scrapped. Massive pay offs, which are then hidden behind confidentiality deals, are totally unacceptable. It is taxpayer's money and they deserve to know how much of it is being used to pay off health bosses. These schemes must end."