Gillian Merron (Minister of State (Public Health), Department of Health; Lincoln, Labour)

The Department considers it important that all of the United Kingdom's bilateral health agreements with other countries are evidence based, continue to be relevant and represent value for money for the British taxpayer.

The Department ended the bilateral agreement with the Channel Islands (including Jersey and Guernsey) and gave notice on the agreement with the Isle of Man, as it considers that they are out of place considering the wide availability of travel insurance, and there is little robust data to justify the business case and value for money for the national health service. The agreement with the Channel Islands ended on 31 March 2009 and the agreement with the Isle of Man will terminate on 31 March 2010. Following the end of these agreements, the UK will no longer provide allocations to fund referrals to the UK. Visitors from these islands will be subject to the same NHS charging regulations as all other overseas visitors, so they are advised to have travel insurance when visiting the UK to avoid incurring health care costs. Following termination of these agreements, UK travellers to the islands are also advised to have travel insurance.