But a new contract, agreed with oversight from the Treasury last month, is now in place between January and April, and only offers trusts a minimum volume of activity which equates to activity provided in October and November. And there appears to be a misunderstanding or lack of clarity in some areas about the extent to which they can now call on private capacity. A report to the MUFT board yesterday, from chief operating officer Julia Bridgewater, said their “local interpretation” of the new contract was “not supported” in meetings with their independent sector providers. She said some of the providers were “pushing back on services they can provide from January and the volume of activity available to NHS trusts”.