§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will provide a breakdown of the sources of funding to be used to improve primary and community health facilities in London; and if she will make a statement;
(2) if she will publish a table showing the total sums allocated from existing regional health authority budgets to pay for primary and community health care initiatives in London; and if she will make a statement.
§ Dr. MawhinneyFunding of primary care developments in London will be resourced from a combination of central funds together with a shift over time in the balance of 67W existing funding in the Thames regions towards primary care, as suggested in "Making London Better". In 1993–94 these funds will amount to £40 million.
In addition, the Government are making available £2.5 million from funds for centrally financed services to resource new voluntary sector initiatives in 1993–94, and will maintain funding at this level in 1994–95 and 1995–96. A further £1 million from central funds is being made available to launch the primary care challenge fund in 1993–94.
This total of £43.5 million is additional to what would otherwise have been spent on primary care in London this year.
Further details of the funding arrangements for 1993–94 will be announced shortly when the London implementation group has made public its decisions on the development plans produced by family health services authorities within the London initiative zone.
Funding arrangements for the main primary care development programmes will be kept under review, year by year, as primary care plans are firmed up and acute sector reconfiguration proceeds. The Government are committed to investing £170 million of additional expenditure on capital projects in the London initiative zone over the next six years from 1993–94 and to ensuring that there is associated revenue investment to bring London's primary care services up to an appropriate standard by the end of the century.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the money earmarked for investment in primary health facilities in London in 1993–94 is additional to the funds earmarked for the NHS in the Chancellor's autumn statement; and if she will make a statement.
§ Dr. MawhinneyNone. The funding for the national health service in 1993–94 announced in the Chancellor's autumn statement anticipated the need to increase investment in primary health facilities in London as part of the implementation of "Making London Better". Private finance will be considered as a source of additional funds where it can be demonstrated to be a cost effective way of improving services to NHS patients.