§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he has taken to ensure that primary care trusts serving areas where targets for additional housing have been set under the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's community plan will be provided with sufficient(a) revenue and (b) capital funding to meet consequential changes in demand for health services; [151635]
(2) what steps are being taken to meet budget requirements of each primary care trust serving areas of expanding population in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06. [151705]
§ Mr. HuttonRevenue allocations for the provision of healthcare, made to primary care trusts (PCTs) for 2003–04 to 2005–06 were announced on 11 December 2002. There are no plans to revisit these allocations.
Any changes in PCT population figures will be taken into account for the next round of allocations. Preparatory work for the next allocations round, covering the period up to 2007–08, will commence shortly.
The Department of Health has started to analyse the impact on health care need of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister growth area initiative. This is ongoing work and we are still considering the appropriateness of providing additional funding for these areas.