§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the basis of the calculation to establish the requirement for £300 million additional expenditure on the NHS this winter. [19011]
§ Mrs. LiddellI have been asked to reply.
694WA sum of £300 million has been made available for patient care this winter as a result of reordering spending priorities; £270 million was found from cuts in other spending programmes. A reduction in provision for the Ministry of Defence of £168 million related to overspending in 1996–97 and £102 million of provision no longer needed by the public sector nuclear industry as a result of their improved performance. The remaining £30 million will be from efficiency savings within the NHS.
The money will specifically help hospitals cope with emergency admissions, reduce delays in discharging patients and strengthen primary and community services to reduce the need for people to be admitted to hospital in the first place.