To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the original budget was for the provision of Airwave radios to the Ambulance Service, broken down by ambulance service trust; how much has been spent by each trust; and what the projected final spend is in each trust.

The Ambulance Radio Programme is delivering a managed service solution for digital radio communications for the 11 Ambulance Trusts in England. The programme is estimated to cost £517 million, but funds are not distributed to individual ambulance trusts as the programme is managed centrally. As at the end of October 2008, programme expenditure has been £82.2 million.

The scope of services being provided centrally was originally based on requirements drawn up by trusts in February 2005. Any additional trust service requirements arising since then are funded by trusts themselves. To date, expenditure on new, further requirements totals £11.4 million.