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23 Jun 2010 : Column 256W—continued
The NIHR Clinical Research Network is additionally providing national health service research infrastructure support to 16 SGD-related studies.
The MRC also invests in genomic research and genomic medicine. The MRC receives its grant in aid from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
NHS: Finance
David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to implement its resource allocation formula in respect of unprocessed distance from target adjustments. [3546]
Mr Simon Burns: We have guaranteed that health spending will increase in real terms in each year of the Parliament. However, healthcare spend will also be looked at as part of the next spending review. This will inform the speed at which primary care trusts move towards their target revenue allocations.
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will take steps to make provision for additional services at the University Hospital of Hartlepool; [3899]
(2) pursuant to the oral statement of 17 June 2010, Official Report, columns 1040-1, on public spending, which health capital projects have been approved; [3905]
(3) what costs have been incurred in respect of the new hospital for North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust; [3906]
(4) what clinical advice he took into account in his decision to cancel the hospital project at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust; [3907]
(5) what plans he has for the Momentum programme in the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust area. [3908]
Mr Simon Burns: The Government's review of spending decisions taken since 1 January this year was to ensure that all the schemes considered were affordable, good value for money and consistent with the Government's priorities. This was in the context of the most urgent task facing the Government which was to tackle the record levels of debt inherited from the last government.
As part of the statement given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 17 June to the House, the cancellation of the proposed new £450 million hospital scheme for North Tees and Hartlepool was announced.
Where major national health service changes are proposed, they must meet the strengthened criteria for such decisions as set out in a letter from the NHS Chief Executive Sir David Nicholson of 20 May to Monitor and all NHS chief executives. This is to ensure that, in future, all service changes must be led by clinicians and patients and not be driven from the top down.
In these tough economic times it is essential that all major hospital building-whether private finance initiatives or public capital-be affordable and provide value for money for the taxpayer. For foundation trusts, proposals must be consistent with their independent status in relation to reduced reliance on Departmental support. As a foundation trust with independent status, North Tees and Hartlepool has borrowing powers and other mechanisms available to it to fund alternative capital investment requirements.
The trust will have incurred costs in working up the proposals, in developing the business case and in performing the feasibility studies behind it. As an independent foundation trust this information is a matter for Monitor (the statutory name for the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts) and may be obtained by writing to the Chairman of Monitor.
The business case approved in March 2010 anticipated a request from the trust to the Department for £8 million to buy the land on the Wynyard Park site for the new hospital. This request was received and met by the Department. If the trust has no further use for the land then it can be sold to recover the funding.
The local strategic health authority and primary care trust have both pledged to continue working closely with all local NHS organisations to plan and develop the best possible health services for the population of Hartlepool and North Tees and to ensure that the wider 'Momentum Project'-involving bringing healthcare services closer to communities-will continue.
The NHS capital investment schemes which were approved to go ahead as a result of the Government review of spending commitments made under the last administration since 1 January 2010 are those for Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospitals NHS Trust, the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust and Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust.
Prescriptions
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the number of free prescriptions which were issued in each region in each of the last three years; [3319]
(2) what estimate he has made of the average cost to the NHS of items issued on prescription in each region in each of the last three years; [3320]
(3) what estimate he has made of the number of prescription forms which were submitted in each region in each of the last three years; [3321]
(4) what estimate he has made of the average number of prescription items issued per prescription form in each region in each of the last three years. [3322]
Mr Simon Burns: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Number and cost of prescription forms and items dispensed in primary care by strategic health authority (SHA) in England: 2007 to 2009 | ||||||
| SHA | Prescription forms (thousand) | Prescription items (thousand) | Items where prescription charges were not paid at the point of dispensing( 1) (thousand) | Average number of items per form | Net ingredient cost (£000) | Average cost per item (£) |
| (1) Includes items dispensed to patients holding a pre-payment certificate. Source: NHS Prescription Services Information System | ||||||
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