£550m set aside to fund Darzi

The Department of Health has set aside £150m from next year's NHS budget and £400m in 2010-11 to pay for the commitments set out in health minister Lord Darzi's review.

The details of the costs were revealed in response to a parliamentary question on the day MPs rose for recess.

Health minister Ann Keen said: "All the commitments are affordable within this overall total, though precise funding for individual initiatives is still subject to further detailed planning work on implementation."

Assessments currently show the DH expecting the reforms in primary care to cost £78m a year, and changes to workforce planning and training to cost £72m and faster access to new drugs to cost £100m a year. NHS chief executive David Nicholson has said that a new strategic health authority innovation fund will be worth £150m a year.

See David Nicholson on implementing Darzi for more analysis.