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Primary Care Targets

Volume 404: debated on Tuesday 29 April 2003

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12.

What proportion of targets in the NHS plan relating to primary care he expects will not be met. [109813]

Given that the Minister and his Department are now more than half way through their four-year period to deliver the Government's health targets set in 2000, none of which has yet been assessed, surely he cannot dispute that it is proof of the Government's incompetence that he will not say which of those targets he expects not to meet. What confidence can the tax-paying public have that the Government will meet any of these targets when the Department's own figures show that it missed a whopping 31 per cent. of the 1998 targets, scandalously failed to give any information on a further 27 per cent. of those targets, thus missing a staggering total of 58 per cent., which is more than half the Department's 1998 targets?

The hon. Gentleman seems to think I said things that I did not say. I said "None".

We have a number of targets in the NHS plan, some of which have already been met. Many are challenging, but we are on course to meet them. What is certain is that they are conditional on extra investment in the NHS, which is partly funded by the 1 per cent. national insurance contribution. As the hon. Gentleman voted against that, he is not really in a position to talk about targets in the NHS.