§ Mr. LloydTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the future of health action zones; and when he will announce the funding for future years. [17915]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 27 November 2001]: The long-term future of health action zones (HAZs) will be determined as part of the Cabinet Office Regional Co-ordination Unit-led review of area based initiatives (ABIs) which is expected to be complete early in the New Year. The HAZ element of this review will examine the ways in which HAZs work and assess their effectiveness and co-ordination with other ABIs.
Decisions on health authority allocations and central revenue budgets (including HAZs) will be announced shortly for 2002–03. Decisions on funding for 2003–04 and beyond will be made as part of the Department's work on the 2002 spending review.