§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the likely pressures on health authority budgets arising from the High Court ruling in R v. North Derbyshire health authority ex parte Fisher. [13474]
§ Mr. MilburnWe do not expect the ruling in the recent judicial review to have any impact on health authority budgets. The ruling requires health authorities, in deciding how best to allocate their available resources to meet the health needs of their population, to have regard to Departmental guidance. It does not require them to give any particular degree of priority to any particular treatment.