§ Mr. HammondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the availability of beta-interferon for treatment of people suffering from multiple sclerosis by health authority, indicating for each health authority the budget for beta-interferon expressed in terms of amount per patient with relapsing remitting MS fulfilling the criteria defined in the relevant Department of Health executive letter. [54938]
§ Mr. BoatengThe information requested is not available. It is not our policy to allocate resources centrally for particular treatments. The costs of prescribing all drugs are met from within health authority allocations, taking account of local priorities. The National Institute for Clinical Effectiveness will in due course provide advice to health authorities to enable more consistent availability across the country.
788W