§ Mr. Nicholas BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the variations in cost of treatment between different health districts.
§ Mr. FreemanThere are often good reasons for variations in the cost of treatment between different health districts. It is for district and regional management to consider whether costs are reasonable and how performance could be improved.
The Department publishes Health Service indicators and other costing information each year to assist local management in that task, It is hoped to publish performance indicators for 1988–89 at the end of this year or early next year. The proposals in the White Paper "Working for Patients" are designed to increase efficiency and should therefore have an additional impact on unjustifiable cost variations.