§ Patrick MercerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on how the £12 million dedicated to countering ageism in the NHS has been allocated. [34404]
§ Jacqui SmithNo such allocation of dedicated funding has been made. The programme of action provided by the National Service Framework for Older People to address the issues of age discrimination is centred on giving older people fair access to all services. This is regardless of age, on the basis of clinical need in the national health service, and in social care services by ending the use of age in eligibility criteria to restrict access to available services. Older people as the major users of health and social care services will benefit from increased levels of funding over the coming years, building on the announcements in the NHS Plan.
£ 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 (i) Andersen 51,547 7,226 0.00 1,774 0.00 (ii) Deloitte Touche 72,350 45,445 11,083 55,604 342,730 (iii) Ernst and Young 26,229 18,211 23.00 30,918 66,676 (iv) KPMG 331,712 166,943 222,802 33,054 1,147,785 (v) PricewaterhouseCoopers 143,710 196,890 244,699 1,039,566 308,364