To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money was set aside in his Department's budget for the treatment centres initiative in 1989–90 and 1990–91; how much was spent in 1989–90; and how much was spent in each quarter of the 1990–91 financial year to date.

Funding for treatment centres is not allocated or released on a quarterly basis. The annual cost of each centre is considered in advance with the relevant health authority and is the subject of a contractual agreement. A total of £508,500 was released in 1989–90 to meet the initial cost of the setting up of the three all-Wales centres. A total of some £1·2 million has been allocated to fund treatment centres in 1990–91 of which some £598,000 has been released.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales against what criteria he intends to judge the success or failure of his Department's treatment centres initiative.

Among other factors, the evaluation of the treatment centre initiative will consider the extent to which each centre has met its contractual target on throughput and established an all-Wales referral pattern thus reducing the time patients might otherwise have to wait for treatment.