§ 42. Mr. J. H. Osbornasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proposals he has for bringing expenditure on hospitals and the medical services in the Sheffield area up to the national average.
§ 9. Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he intends to take to redress the financial imbalance between hospital budget allocations to London and North Staffordshire.
§ Dr. John DunwoodyAs my right hon. Friend said in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Mr. Leslie Huckfield) on 10th December, he is reviewing the distribution of resources for the capital building programme to secure the aim expressed in "The Hospital Building Programme" (Cmnd. 3000) of achieving a common satisfactory service in all parts of the country. He is also considering how the allocation of hospital revenue funds can be adjusted with a view to speeding up the removal of inequalities in standards of service without seriously disrupting the hospital services in the better-off regions.—[Vol. 793, c. 139.]
§ Mr. OsbornCan the Minister make faster progress? Is it not a fact that, in spite of the teaching hospital in the Sheffield area, the cost per capita is about £11 against an average for the country of £13 10s. and £16 in the South and South-East? Is there not need for a much more rapid correction of this imbalance? What information can we be given on this point?
§ Dr. DunwoodyI agree that the Sheffield region has received slightly less than the national average per head of the population. The hon. Gentleman has a Question on this subject for answer today. We are conscious of this problem, and we are doing what we can to rectify the situation, but we cannot do it at the cost of reducing standards in any part of the country. We want to remove the inequalities without seriously disrupting hospital services in the better-off regions.