To ask the Secretary of State for Health

(1) what (a) the total monetary value was of elective health treatment purchased from the NHS by the Isle of Man government in each of the last 20 years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;

(2) with which (a) countries, (b) overseas territories and (c) other jurisdictions the National Health Service has reciprocal agreements comparable to the agreement between the NHS and the Isle of Man; and if he will make a statement;

(3) on what statutory basis he cancelled the reciprocal agreement between the NHS and (a) Jersey and (b) Guernsey in respect of (i) Scotland, (ii) Northern Ireland and (c) Wales; and if he will make a statement;

(4) what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department had with their counterparts in (i) the Northern Ireland Executive, (ii) the Scottish Executive and (iii) the Welsh Assembly Government on the discontinuance of reciprocal health arrangements between the NHS and (A) Guernsey and (B) Jersey with effect from 1 April 2009; and if he will make a statement;

(5) what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have had with their counterparts in the Scottish Executive on the discontinuance of reciprocal health arrangements between the NHS and the Isle of Man with effect from 1 April 2010; and if he will make a statement.

holding answer for PQ301050 25 November 2009

In addition to the Isle of Man, the United Kingdom Government currently have reciprocal healthcare agreements with Australia, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, New Zealand, Russia, St. Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Serbia Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia.

All of these agreements are similar in that they provide healthcare cover for tourists from non European Union member states.

The Overseas Territories of Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, St. Helena and Turks and Caicos can each refer, to the national health service, four patients per year, specifically for elective treatment. In the case of the Isle of Man and Gibraltar, a financial allocation is set aside each year and is made available for elective treatment following clinical referral.

The following table shows the allocation provided by the UK to the Isle of Man under the terms of the bi-lateral healthcare agreement. This allocation is used to fund elective NHS healthcare. The Isle of Man may also have commissioned elective treatment outside of the terms of the agreement but this information is not held by the Department of Health centrally.

Allocation made available to the Isle of Man under reciprocal healthcare agreement:

The agreement with the Isle of Man contained a six-month notice period; the UK Government exercised that right and a termination date of 31 March 2010 was agreed with the Isle of Man. The Department gave notice on the agreements with both the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man on behalf of the UK. Prior to this, departmental officials consulted with the Ministry of Justice and with officials from the devolved Administrations.