§ Mr. LansleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what criteria relating to bed availability are used to assess eligibility for funding from the Department's contingency fund; [27016]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 10 January 2002]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.
Officials within the Department have control over a small fund to deal with particular pressures on local health services. Money is allocated in discussion with regional offices based on well established procedures for monitoring local health services. This monitoring includes information on bed availability.