§ Dr. Evan HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate(a) the cost of establishing and abolishing the directorates of health and social care and (b) the budgets for the directorates in each year since they were established. [97815]
§ Mr. LammyFor the financial year 2002–03, the revenue budget of the four Directorates of Health and Social Care (DsHSC) was £58.7 million, which represented the costs of the eight former regional offices of the NHS Executive rolled forward, after the transfer of certain functions to other parts of the Department. Expenditure against this budget is forecast to be £49 million.
Additionally, there were set-up costs of £2.4 million attributable to establishing and equipping the public health function in the nine government offices of the regions. The budget of the DsHSC for 2003–04 is £24.5 million, a saving of £34.2 million over 2002–03.
It is too early to assess the consequences of the proposed Departmental re-organisation.