Written question asked by Kevin Barron (Labour) on Tuesday, 2 February 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 4 February 2010. It was answered by Ann Keen (Labour) on Tuesday, 9 February 2010 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Health: Screening

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are in place to monitor the (a) implementation of NHS health checks and (b) expenditure of funds allocated for that purpose.

Answer: The NHS Health Check programme is a Tier 3 Vital Sign in the NHS Operating Framework 2010-11. Consequently, strategic health authorities play a significant role in monitoring the roll-out of the programme locally. To support national understanding of the pace of implementation of the programme, data will be collected by the Department from 1 April 2010 on the number of people between the ages of 40 and 74 who have received an NHS Health Check. An NHS Health Check data set is also being developed which will enable the national health service to observe the progress of the programme in more detail.Funding for the programme is not ring-fenced and is provided as part of general primary care trust (PCT) allocations. Data on spend by PCTs on implementing the programme are not collected centrally.

Secondary information