§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2004,Official Report, column 268W, on shared service centres, what assessment he has made of whether these services can be rolled out more quickly. [169654]
§ Mr. HuttonAn assessment of whether the rollout of shared service centres can be made more quickly is being undertaken at present. Whether this is practicable will depend on the anticipated level of demand from the national health service, the potential for new centres to be opened up and the timing of when existing accounting systems become obsolete. It is anticipated a decision will be made before a preferred bidder is appointed.