§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the money pledged for improved cancer care has been taken up by primary care trusts and hospital trusts. [83700]
§ Ms BlearsThe Department does not collect information on how much is spent on individual programmes. However, we know that all areas have invested in cancer services. The national cancer director, Professor Mike Richards, is working with chief executives of strategic health authorities to ensure that the money allocated for cancer services this year and next year gets through to cancer services and that Cancer Plan targets are met.
We are devolving power from the centre to locally run services to allow the freedom to innovate and improve care for patients. The increased resources that we have made available and will continue to make available to support the implementation of the Cancer Plan will move to the National Health Service frontline. Primary care trusts will have freedom to decide where NHS resources are best spent, but they will need to account publicly for how they have used resources against the test of high clinical standards and good value for money.