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Written Parliamentary Question: 22nd November 2006

NHS Trusts
Q:To ask the Secretary of State for Health

(1) what the maximum amount each NHS trust may spend on marketing their services to general practitioners under patient choice and payment by results is; and what definition of marketing she uses;

(2) what the maximum amount each NHS trust may spend on marketing their services to patients and members of the public under patient choice and payment by results is;

(3) how much each NHS trust has budgeted for marketing their services to (a) patients and (b) general practitioners under patient choice and payment by results.
(John Hemming)

A:Information on NHS trust budgets for marketing is not held centrally.

In the "Operating Framework for 2006-07" the Department set out its expectation that providers would not want to spend excessively, on advertising and marketing and its preference for a self-regulatory approach. The Department will launch a "Code of Practice for Advertising and Promotion of National Health Services", for consultation shortly.
(Andy Burnham, Minister of State (Delivery and Quality), Department of Health)

Comments

Anonymous said…
Are you suggesting that the Secretary of State should determine the spending levels of individual budget heads for each and every NHS Trust?

On the one hand you want to cpomplain about a command economy nanny state approach... and on the other hand you appear to want the Secretary of State to intervene at this sort of level.

Incredible.

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