§ The Secretary of State for Health (Mr. Alan Milburn)I am announcing capital allocations for the national health service for the next three years today. This is consistent with the revenue budget allocations which were issued late last year.
Capital allocations are made to the NHS in two parts. Operational capital is for the purpose of maintaining and enhancing existing capital stock, and is made direct to NHS Trusts and primary care trusts. Strategic capital, which is allocated direct to all strategic health authorities (StHAs), is for distribution at their own discretion for larger scale investments.
Total operational capital is increasing by 10 per cent., in each of the three years 2003–04 and 2005–06. The growth in strategic capital in the StHAs is 13 per cent./11 per cent./14 per cent., for each of the three years. The residue of the capital is being held centrally—the largest being for information technology, where £400 million is being held for 2003–04, £700 million for 2004–05 and £1.2 billion for 2005–06.
This is the first time that day-to-day operational capital has been allocated directly to NHS StHAs, trusts and primary care trusts.
This is the first time that capital allocations have been made for three years rather then one year, allowing the local NHS to plan with confidence and certainty for the future.
In addition, allocations have been informed by a new funding formula for both operational and strategic capital to give a nationally consistent and fairer basis for the distribution of funds.
Of the money allocated to StHAs, £100 million is for the establishment of a local access incentive fund. The purpose is to reward NHS trusts and primary care trusts who make rapid progress in improving access to NHS treatment. Clearly this could include any of the NHS plan targets for access, both in hospital and primary care. Initially, however, we expect the main focus to be on:
Details of the allocations and an explanation of the new funding formulae have been placed in the Library.
- (a) reducing waiting times in accident and emergency (A&E) (progress towards the maximum four-hour total wait in A&E);
- (b) reducing in-patient and out-patient waiting times (progress towards the maximum six month waiting time target and the maximum 13 week wait);
- (c) reducing in-patient and out-patient waiting lists.