Written question asked by Baroness Kramer (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 21 November 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 23 November 2005. It was answered by Caroline Flint (Labour) on Wednesday, 7 December 2005 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Sexual Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she takes to monitor the use of funding allocated to primary care trusts to improve sexual health services following the publication of the Choosing Health White Paper in November 2004.

Answer: Primary care trusts will receive funding for implementing the targets in the Choosing Health White Paper in their mainstream allocations and we will be monitoring the outcomes from this investment. In particular, the progress towards targets to reduce the level of new infections of gonorrhoea, to ensure patients have access to genitor-urinary medicine clinics within 48 hours by 2008 and numbers of screens undertaken in the Chlamydia screening programme. These improved performance measures, should significantly strengthen the incentive for local investment and service modernisation.In addition, a letter has been sent by the Department to strategic health authority chief executives highlighting that when considering any savings from implementing ““Commissioning a patient led NHS””, savings should not be identified from those posts working on implementation of Choosing Health. This includes posts in frontline services.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 440 c1427W;440 c1426-7W; 31469
Session: 2005-06
Subjects: Finance Primary care trusts Screening Sexually transmitted infections Sexual and reproductive health
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk