§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what provisions are made for local health commissioning(a) when health authorities face shortfalls in their budget and general practitioner fundholders have unspent allocations; and if he will make a statement. [41623]
§ Mr. SackvilleIt is for regional health authorities to manage overall spending within the regional cash limit set by the national health service executive. Regional health authorities set cash limits for health authorities and agree budgets for general practice fundholders. They are therefore responsible for managing any over or underspends within the overall resources available to them.