§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been provided for hospital bed places since 1997 for hospitals in(a)England and (b)Coventry. [43525]
§ Mr. HuttonFunding for hospital beds is not identified separately within health authority allocations.
Since 1997, total health authority allocations have risen from £20.9 billion to £41.8 billion in 2002–03. Ringfencing within allocations is kept to a minimum to allow health authorities to manage flexibly all the resources available to them. It is for health authorities in partnership with primary care organisations and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities, modernising services and meeting NHS Plan targets.