Q161 Mr Davidson: In those circumstances was it sensible to go forward with these organisations as partners? Was the whole thing not basically flawed from the beginning? The Department thought that a merger was necessary, one of the people involved was not going to have a merger under any circumstances for a variety of reasons and there was a flaw at the heart of the whole business.
Mr Taylor: That was a very difficult judgment call for my colleagues. There was a perception in the Department at the time that as the scheme moved forward the potential desirability of a merger would become more apparent to parties and, in the words of the Report, it was inevitable and that could be resolved at a later stage. I am not sure whether that was the right judgment to take: that was the judgment taken at the time. What I have said to you is that when we look at schemes now, partly in the light of this experience and others, we look much harder at proposals which are coming before us which involve partnership. In some cases we press them back to the organisations concerned to say whether this is really going to work and they back off then.
Q162 Mr Davidson: May I ask about bonuses for senior officials in all of this? We heard earlier that nobody was disciplined, nobody was sacked. Do I take it that bonuses for all the senior officials involved went on regardless? Is there any evidence that anybody, as a result of what has not been a shining success, actually lost any bonus they would otherwise have received? Can anybody tell me? Did anybody at Harefield lose any bonus?
Mr Bell: We never received any bonuses.
Q163 Mr Davidson: That is a good position to be in sometimes.
Mr Nettel: Same answer.
Dr Goodier: Most of my staff are not on a bonus. I was on a bonus personally.
Q164 Mr Davidson: Did you lose anything as a result of this success or otherwise?
Dr Goodier: No, not initially.
Q165 Mr Davidson: That is a pretty good position. What does "not initially" mean?
Dr Goodier: In the last review I lost some of my bonus.
Q166 Mr Davidson: How much of your bonus did you lose?
Dr Goodier: About 35%.
Q167 Mr Davidson: How much is that in money?
Dr Goodier: About £3,500.
Mr Davidson: So staff involved have lost £3,500 and nobody else has lost anything as far as we can see and the public sector has lost £15 million and enormous opportunity costs for improving the health of the people involved.
Q168 Mr Bacon: How much was Mr Sorenson paid in severance payment?
Mr Nettel: He was paid a net amount, net of tax: six months' salary, which was his notice period under his contract.
Q169 Mr Bacon: Which was how much?
Mr Nettel: From memory, around £60,000 to £70,000.
Q170 Mr Bacon: If you could confirm that in writing to the Committee that would be great.6
Mr Nettel: Certainly.
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6 Note by witness: Eric Sorensen was paid £67,353 gross on 22 November 2002, consisting of 24 weeks net pay, under a compromise agreement in lieu of 6 months notice due under his contract of employment.