§ 14. Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement about the redeployment of available funds betwen regional hospital boards in order to ensure that each board receives a fair share of such funds, bearing in mind the population it serves.
§ Sir K. JosephAnnual revenue allocations to regional hospital boards are now made on a basis designed to reduce inequalities of financial provision without disrupting the services in the regions which are at present better off. The population served by each board features largely in the calculation.
§ Mr. ClarkeI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that reply, but he will be aware of the great inequalities which at present exist. Is he aware, for example, that the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board is £10 million short of its fair share of revenue required to provide a service for its population? Over what period of time does he envisage redeployment ironing out these differences between regions?
§ Sir K. JosephI spent a day recently with the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board, and I am aware of the position. It will probably take about ten years, moving gradually, as we must in order to be fair to all regions, to even out the financial provision available.
§ Dr. SummerskillIn view of the accepted discrepancies which exist between regions in both health service provision and hospital ward expenditure, what steps is the Minister taking to obtain a fairly equal standard of national provision, and what influence does he have with boards in this matter?
§ Sir K. JosephWe are revising upwards each year the share of the extra money available to the boards with less resources in order, over about a ten-year period, to bring about equivalent revenue and capital availability, taking into account population, beds, and types and numbers of cases treated.