The health secretary has confirmed which NHS trusts will be the next to achieve foundation status.

Addressing foundation trust chief executives on Tuesday, John Reid announced that a further 32 trusts had been invited to apply for the self-governing status.

The decision was based upon the performance of trusts in such areas as responsiveness to patients, the quality of leadership and management, the commitment of staff and their financial performances.

The announcement follows last week's controversial vote on the Health and Social Care Bill, which saw the government's majority cut to 17, its lowest since 1997.

"Over the next year, this reform will break the monopoly of Whitehall's ownership and control of hospitals in this country - ending the myth that I can best direct hospitals on how to provide local health care," said Reid.

"Instead a quarter of England's population will be served by hospitals over which their patients will have real rights and a real say.

"We have now come through the controversy and need to move on. We have agreed we will look very carefully at the early results of the NHS foundation trusts, but no-one should be in any doubt about our commitment to reform to accompany the investment that has been put into the NHS."

The 32 trusts named on Tuesday will be granted foundation status by October 2004, and will join the 25 trusts previously announced who are currently in what is known as the "first wave". A further seven have deferred their applications.