HC Deb 08 May 2001 vol 368 c155W
Dr. Fox

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cost to date of NHS Direct. [160306]

Ms Stuart

NHS Direct has been funded from a top-sliced central budget. The total costs of the service since 1998–99 are given in the table. These costs include all set-up costs for establishing the call centre environment, and central costs.

£million
Year Total cost
1998–99 14
1999–2000 55
2000–01 89.1

The 2000–01 figures are an estimate based on latest information. The final costs will not fluctuate widely from the information in the table.