HC Deb 07 February 2002 vol 379 cc1162-3W
Mrs. Anne Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost per hospital meal is(a) before and (b) after the implementation of the Government's Better Hospital Food programme; and if he will make a statement. [31331]

Ms Blears

The Better Hospital Food programme, announced in the NHS Plan, is designed to improve the quality and availability of food in hospitals for all patients and is a long-term programme. An additional £38.5 million has been made available to support this programme.

The first stage is to ensure that all sites are brought up to the required level. As the 31 December 2001 target date for implementation has only just passed, precise information will not yet be available, and will vary from site to site according to historic levels of investment, the type of system in operation and patient choice. We expect that detailed costings information will be available as the programme becomes established.