Cancer: Drugs
Health
Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take in respect of strategic health authorities (SHAs) which have exhausted their allocation of the Cancer Drugs Fund; and what will happen to the Cancer Drugs Fund budget of SHAs which do not spend their total allocated budget in this financial year.
Paul Burstow (Minister of State (Care Services), Health; Sutton and Cheam, Liberal Democrat)
£200 million is available for the Cancer Drugs Fund in 2011-12. This is comprised of £140 million allocated to the national health service and a further £60 million made available for strategic health authorities (SHA) to draw down as needed. The Department is monitoring SHA spend from the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) and transfers between SHAs can be considered if a good reason arises. The total available funding is £200 million each year and is only available to the NHS to allow patients to access the additional cancer drugs that their doctors recommend for them through the CDF in that year. The NHS is not permitted to retain CDF under spends.