§ Baroness Noakesasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will state the amount of work undertaken by independent healthcare providers for the National Health Service in 2001–02 and the amount paid for that work; and whether they will give their estimates of the amount of work and its value to be undertaken by independent health care providers for the National Health Service in 2002–03. [HL6146]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings Heath:In 2001–02, National Health Service trusts, primary care trusts and health authorities in England spent approximately £1.8 billion on the purchase of healthcare from non-NHS bodies. This figure includes expenditure on services provided by all non-NHS bodies, including local authorities and other statutory bodies, as well as independent healthcare providers, and cannot be broken down by type of provider. We do not have an equivalent figure for the volume of activity purchased, nor have we made an estimate of likely activity and spending in 2002–03.