A YEAR ago, Alan Milburn made front page news when, in Newcastle, he announced £100m of new money to make cancer care in the North-East the envy of the world.

A year on, it is extremely disappointing to hear that some of that money may never have arrived and some of it may have been eaten up by the general running costs of the NHS.

In the last year, by all accounts, tremendous strides have been made in improving cancer care in the region. This is largely because Mr Milburn has, as promised, made new money available.

But the fact remains that, in Newcastle, the centre of excellence in terms of cancer care that serves much of the region, not all of the promised money has got through. As a result, a new form of intensive radiotherapy for lung cancer - which doctors had planned for on the basis that they were getting extra money - is now on hold.

Patients are bound to feel badly let down.

Some of their anger might rightly be directed at local managers who have allowed additional money designated for cancer care to be eaten up by general running costs. However, it may well be that hospital budgets are still so tight that managers have been robbing Peter with cancer to ensure Paul receives his treatment elsewhere.

And so patients' anger will be directed at the Department of Health, which has apparently failed to ringfence the additional money promised by Mr Milburn so that it was spent only on cancer care.

And it will be directed at Mr Milburn, whose promises of a year ago now begin to ring hollow.

The Commons science and technology committee, which yesterday reported on whether all of the promised money was getting through, concluded: "It is clear that the Government is still far from spending as much as is needed.''

The Government needs all the support it can get in its plans to raise spending on health. Some of those plans will be controversial - starting with next month's Budget as all the indications suggest taxes will rise to pay for NHS improvements.

Critics of those plans will say that no matter how much extra money is poured in, the monolithic NHS will simply absorb it without showing an adequate return.

Sadly, the fate of Mr Milburn's valuable cancer money seems to reinforce that view.

If the Government wants the public's support for its reforms and investment, it has to start delivering on its promises.