§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the criteria used to assess whether or not a service should receive NHS funding.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 10 May 1993]: Section 1 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 provides that it shall continue to be the duty of the Secretary of State to promote in Scotland a comprehensive and integrated health service designed to secure improvement in the physical and mental health of the people of Scotland, and the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness. Within that framework health boards are responsible for assessing the health needs of the population in their areas and for determining their own priorities for purchasing or providing services to meet these needs from the general resources allocated to them. Central funding is now authorised only where it is necessary to facilitate the introduction and orderly provision and development of new high-cost, low-throughput priority services with good success rates, such as heart or liver transplantation.