To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money was paid for (a) private and (b) NHS medical treatment of service personnel in each calendar year since 1997. [117883]

[holding answer 9 June 2003]: The information requested is only held by financial year. The cost of private treatment in respect of centrally run treatment initiatives and single service schemes in the United Kingdom in each of the years from 2001–02 to 2002–03 is shown as follows. No figures for private treatment have been recorded centrally for years prior to 2000–01.

	£ million
2000–01	0.769
2001–02	4.095
2002–03	3.326

Expenditure on NHS providers between 1996–97 and 2002–03 was as follows:

	£ million
1996–97	0.137
1997–98	2.294
1998–99	7.419
1999–2000	8.560
2000–01	15.168
2001–02	23.209
2002–03	25.725

The figures represent payments under the Service Level Agreements between the Ministry of Defence and the NHS Hospital Trusts which host the MOD Hospital Units (MDHUs) as they became established, the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) from 2001–02 onwards, and the Royal Surrey County Hospital from 2000–01 onwards (for oromaxillofacial treatment only).The figures for 1996–97 to 2000–01 represent the net costs to MOD after offsetting the payments received from the host Trusts in respect of military personnel serving in MDHU's, the RCDM and the Royal Surrey County Hospital. With effect from 1 April 2001, the two sets of costs were separated and figures shown for that year onwards represent gross treatment costs.