§ Mr. McCabeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been allocated by his Department to individual health authorities in the(a) current and (b) previous financial years for the provision of silicone cosmesis; and what monitoring procedures exist to ensure that the funds are used to provide cosmesis for amputees. [30792]
§ Jacqui SmithOn the 9 January 2001 we announced that funding totalling £4 million to provide silicone cosmesis to prosthetic limb users was to be made available over the next three years. The funding started with £0.5 million for 2001–02, £1.5 million for 2002–03 and £2 million for 2003–04. This was an addition to the baseline allocations to individual health authorities.
Each local health authority will provide funding to individual disablement service centres (DSCs) to provide silicone cosmesis. To support this initiative officials in my Department wrote, on 12 December 2001, to all health authorities reminding them that this funding has been provided to them in their allocations.
The contract for purchasing silicone cosmesis covers was awarded on 1 October 2001 and the contractor is required to provide the NHS purchasing and supply agency with quarterly contract sales figures which will include:
- total sales figure in £s
- £s spent by each DSC
- what span of products are purchased.