Vol. 513 No. 6
260 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the steps, if any, his Department has taken to avert future funding problems in the General Medical Services (Payments) Board which had accrued debts of £90 million by the end of 1999. [3083/00]
The Deputy will be aware that a sum of £90 million was provided in 1999 by way of a Supplementary Estimate to deal with the financing of the GMS payments board.
Approximately £50 million of this additional funding was on a once off basis and the remaining £40 million remained in the base funding of the board in 2000. The allocation to the board in 2000 is £404.983 million and included additional funding for pay and non pay increases, together with provision for expected increases in prescribing and take up on the dental treatment scheme and other schemes, based on current and projected trends.
My Department will continue to monitor the position on a monthly basis to ensure that the funding is consistent with the needs of the various schemes, which in the main are demand-led.
