§ Jon CruddasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the extra resources required to support the growth and development of new communities in the Thames Gateway area; what discussions he has had with other Government Departments in relation to supporting the growth and development of new communities in the Thames Gateway; and what resources he has allocated to support the growth and development of new communities in the Thames Gateway. [90424]
§ Mr. HuttonNational health service organisations covering the Thames Gateway area, in North East London, South East London, South Essex and North Kent, are actively working with a range of partners on developing plans for the Thames Gateway. The aims are to ensure new communities are sustainable, and both enjoy good health and have access to high quality health services.
The Department is ensuring that there is a strategic overview and will analyse the outcome of this local planning in the form of a 'Health Scenario' for the Thames Gateway as a whole. This work will detail the additional health and social service provision needed to support the development of new sustainable communities. It is anticipated that this work will be finalised in the spring.
Planning for the Thames Gateway is led by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and co-ordinated by the Thames Gateway Strategic Partnership. I represent the Department on this partnership.
Funding for services in the Thames Gateway will be allocated in the normal way through primary care trusts. Those PCTs covering the Thames Gateway area will see an overall increase of 34 per cent., or nearly £705 million, in monies available to them over the next three financial years. Some PCTs will see a much bigger
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Name of strategic health authority in England Total attendance at major A&E Percentage of patients who spent less than four hours in A&E England 3,095,650 77 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire HA 106,095 83 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire HA 86,041 76 Essex HA 84,375 72 North West London HA 160,240 74 North Central London HA 101,049 77 North East London HA 116,966 63 South East London HA 118,576 72 South West London HA 91,844 68 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear HA 88,259 89 County Durham and Tees Valley HA 71,301 93 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire HA 87,462 83 West Yorkshire HA 176,184 85 Cumbria and Lancashire HA 120,115 89 increase, including Barking and Dagenham PCT, whose resources will increase by 42.5 per cent. This increased level of resource, along with additional capital building programmes in the Gateway, including a new £230 million, 860 bed hospital at Romford, will result in an expansion in the services available to the residents of the Thames Gateway.
The increased growth in population resulting from promoting the Thames Gateway as an area of population growth is expected to take place beyond 2006–07. The resources needed to support additional health and social care provision in the Thames Gateway will therefore need to be identified in future Spending Reviews.