To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Government are on track to achieve their target of developing 47 diagnostic and treatment centres by 2008; and what the state of progress was at 1 April.

The Government are on track to achieve their target of opening 47 treatment centres (TCs) by the end of 2005. By 1 April 2004, 29 fixed site TCs were open: 27 run by the national health service and two run and managed by the independent sector. In addition, there are two mobile units run by the independent sector providing ophthalmology procedures.