Mr. Gareth ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what additional funding has been made available to primary care trusts and acute hospitals to help fund the cost of patients using infliximab. [66814]
§ Mr. LammyWe have not allocated earmarked funding for National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommended treatments such as infliximab. However, national health service bodies have a statutory obligation to fund such treatments. General allocations to health authorities take account of the pressures on pay, prices and the cost of implementing NICE recommendations which they all face. Allocations have increased by at least 6 per cent. in real terms in 2002–03.