HC Deb 04 February 1987 vol 109 cc675-6W
Mr. Meacher

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the total cash releasing cost improvements achieved by each health authority in each year from 1979 to the latest available date.

Mr. Mark Robinson

Health authorities in Wales have been required to prepare a cost improvement programme from 1987–88 onwards. Prior to this no formal cost improvement programmes were in place in Wales. However, health authorities since 1984–85 have been required to make a minimum efficiency saving of 0.5 per cent. on the authorities' revenue allocation and to redeploy this from the acute to the continuing care sector for the benefit of mentally ill, mentally handicapped and elderly people. The savings reported by health authorities are as follows:

Efficiency Savings
£'000
District Health Authority 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 Projected
Clwyd 348.0 654.4 663.8
East Dyfed 224.0 312.2 398.8
Gwent 439.4 292.5 622.5
Gwynedd 217.0 244.0 309.0
Mid Glamorgan 500.0 547.0 500.0
Pembrokeshire 72.5 350.0 694.2
Powys 103.0 108.0 116.0
South Glamorgan 570.1 639.0 474.0
West Glamorgan 343.5 397.3 381.0
TOTAL 2,817.5 3,544.4 4,159.3

£ million
1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87
Welsh Office expenditure on research and development 1.6 1.5 1.3 1.6 2.6 1 3.6
Percentage of total Welsh Office expenditure 0.072 0.062 0.050 0.061 0.093 0.119
1 Estimated outturn.

Mr. Meacher

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the total cash released through the competitive tendering process by each health authority, giving category of service and total, for each year 1979 to the latest available date.

Mr. Mark Robinson

The information is not available in the form requested. Health authorities were asked to test the cost-effectiveness of their domestic, catering and laundry services by competitive tendering in September 1983. Such information as is held centrally in relation to that was given in the reply to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras on 24 November 1986, at column 25. Since then a further domestic services contract, with estimated savings of £36,000 pa has been let by the Powys health authority.