§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate(a) the total cost to date of NHS Professionals and (b) the total savings the agency has made in the cost of agency spending; and if he will make a statement; [159773]
§ Mr. BaronTo ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 4 February,Official Report, column 969W, on NHS Professionals, (1) what assessment he has made of how much NHS Professionals (a) has saved and (b) has cost to set up and run to date; [160415]
(2) how much funding NHS Professionals has received from the Department for set-up and running costs in each year since its inception; [160498]
(3) how much funding NHS Professionals is forecast to receive from the Department in future financial years; and whether it is predicted to be self-funding. [160593]
§ Mr. HuttonNHS Professionals was initially allocated £7 million to support the start up of pilot sites. A further £24 million was invested in 2002–03 to support roll out and it is anticipated that approximately £22 million will be spent in 2003–04. The NHS Professionals Special Health Authority business plan for 2004–05 is currently being finalised. The business plan will set out the level of funding required for NHS Professionals to be self-sustaining in the longer-term.
926WThe cost savings for National Health Service trusts using the NHS Professionals service are accrued at a local level and there is currently no central collection of this information. Information on local benefits and savings will be collected in future by the newly established NHS Professionals Special Health Authority.