To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department has made an estimate of the total additional expenditure necessitated by the (a) reorganisation of strategic health authorities on 1 July 2006 and (b) reorganisation of primary care trusts on 1 October 2006. (135882)

The Department estimates that there will be no additional overall expenditure resulting from the implementation of the “Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS” initiative.

The reconfiguration of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities provides an opportunity to deliver savings, both by reducing the number of organisations and through the greater sharing of functions. By 2008, this reconfiguration is expected to deliver at least £250 million savings each year for reinvestment in front-line services.