§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money was set aside in his Department's budget for the treatment centres initiative in 1989–90 and 1990–91; how much was spent in 1989–90; and how much was spent in each quarter of the 1990–91 financial year to date.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettFunding for treatment centres is not allocated or released on a quarterly basis. The annual cost of each centre is considered in advance with the relevant health authority and is the subject of a contractual agreement. A total of £508,500 was released in 1989–90 to meet the initial cost of the setting up of the three all-Wales centres. A total of some £1.2 million has been allocated to fund treatment centres in 1990–91 of which some £598,000 has been released.
§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales against what criteria he intends to judge the success or failure of his Department's treatment centres initiative.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettAmong other factors, the evaluation of the treatment centre initiative will consider the extent to which each centre has met its contractual target on throughput and established an all-Wales referral pattern thus reducing the time patients might otherwise have to wait for treatment.