But he added there should be no slow down in its implementation as it was "fundamental to the modernisation of the NHS, providing a potentially powerful set of incentives and underpinning patient choice".

BBC: NEWS | Health | Warning over NHS funds shake-up

There is currently no deadline for the implementation of the measures, but Mr Avelino said they would be adopted "soon".

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Mr Brown offered no time scale for moving from pilot projects to full-scale implementation of pet passports, but promised it would occur quickly.

BBC: News | UK Politics | Pets win passports

These are still very early on in implementation, but ever since the MusicGremlin debuted, we've been hungry for more -- and no, the Zune didn't sate that.

ENGADGET: SanDisk Sansa Connect WiFi portable audio player