§ Lord James Douglas-Hamiltonasked the Prime Minister (1) what are the main differences between the joint financing scheme in England and the support financing scheme in Scotland; and what are the reasons for the differences;
(2) what were the respective dates when the joint financing scheme in England and the support financing scheme in Scotland came into operation; and for what reasons the dates differ.
§ The Prime MinisterThe joint finance scheme in England was introduced in 1976 and the support finance scheme in Scotland in 1980. The later start in Scotland was largely due to initial reservations among health boards.
One significant difference between the two schemes is that in England an annual allocation of funds is made to health authorities for joint financing while in Scotland funds are retained centrally and health boards can apply for funds for individual joint projects. There is no regional tier in Scotland and the central department therefore has a direct monitoring relationship with health boards.
The other main difference lies in the total sums made available; £85 million in England and £2 million in Scotland in 1982–83. The relatively small figure for Scotland reflects its much smaller population and the later start to the scheme. Joint finance expenditure in England also grew from a relatively small base in the early years.