NHS BUREAUCRACY

Early day motion 172, tabled 26 June 1997 by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Labour). Signed by 42 members.

That this House notes that Labour's election manifesto promised to cut costs in the NHS by diverting money from the bureaucratic processes of the internal market into direct care for patients; is delighted that the government has already begun to honour this manifesto promise by identifying ú100 million to be saved from NHS bureaucracy over the coming year; notes that this money will now be re-directed to improving patient care; welcomes particularly ú10 million now going into speeding up the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and a further ú5 million to be spent on improving children's intensive care for the coming winter; further welcomes the setting up by the government of an NHS Efficiency Task Force to explore more ways of saving money to provide more for patient care; and believes this is proof that, unlike the previous Tory Government, the new Labour Government accords treating patients a higher priority than playing chase the form in the Tory internal market.

Signatures by party: Labour 35, Labour/Co-operative 7.