To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on (a) the procurement process and (b) compensation payments for the nationally procured clinical assessment and treatment service in Cumbria and Lancashire to date; from which budget it was planned to meet further such expenditure; which budget will fund the locally procured service; and what further budget adjustments will be made as a consequence of the change from a nationally to a locally procured service. (175374)

The total cost of the procurement of Phase 2 of the independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) programme at the end of October 2007 was approximately £84 million; this figure includes all assessment, scoping, procurement, and associated management, professional advisory and support costs. The ISTC programme comprises central resources which work across all schemes and the programme in general. These resources are not disaggregated by individual scheme.

To date, no compensation payments have been made in relation to the proposed Phase 2 clinical assessment, treatment and support scheme in Cumbria and Lancashire. The Department will work with preferred bidders in a systematic way to consider any compensation claims that may be brought on a case-by-case basis, with regard to withdrawn schemes. No specific funds are allocated for this, however the overall budget does include general contingencies for unforeseen events.

The local procurement of independent sector services is a matter for local national health service commissioners.