§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 5 November 2001,Official Report, column 112W, on private health care provision, how the money being made available to the NHS to buy treatment for NHS patients in the private sector will be spent on different medical specialties; how much money he estimates will be saved compared with carrying out the same treatments in the NHS itself; and if he will make a statement. [14027]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 14 November 2001]: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
£40 million has been allocated to buy additional elective cases in the private sector this year. It was targeted to those health authorities most in need of short term support.
The funding will be used to free up national health service capacity but the exact number of cases purchased, the specialties which the money will be spent on, and the prices of the different procedures is not yet known. This will depend on the final details of contracts negotiated with the private sector. We will make the final figures available after the end of the financial year.