§ Lord Ashley of Stokeasked Her Majesty's Government:
What information they have received from primary care trusts and strategic health authorities regarding the formation of consortia for purchasing specialised services; and [HL3526]
Whether they will ensure primary care trusts and strategic health authorities inform them about the number and nature of consortia formed for purchasing specialised services, of which they are aware. [HL3527]
§ Lord WarnerIt is up to primary care trusts (PCTs), as member of specialised services commissioning groups, to decide whether they wish to form purchasing consortia for specific specialised services. PCTs overall arrangements for commissioning specialised services are performance managed by strategic health authorities (SHA). It would be up to an individual SHA to decide whether to advise on the formation of a purchasing consortium for a particular specialised service. We do not collect information centrally on purchasing consortia arrangements. We have no plans to do so in the future.