Mr. Robert G. HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to change the funding arrangements by which central Government grants are provided to local authorities in respect of AIDS-related problems to take into account the fact that the great majority of people with AIDS live in a relatively small number of local authorities.
§ Mr. MellorI am very pleased to announce that we propose to introduce in 1989–90 a new specific grant to support expenditure on personal social services to enable resources to be targeted on the small number of local authorities facing the greatest pressure as a consequence of AIDS. £7 million of grant, paid at 70 per cent, of total expenditure under the powers available from the Local Authority Grants (Social Needs) Act 1969, will be distributed to those authorities facing the severest pressure. Although the precise details of the arrangements 1025W have yet to be worked out, we intend to monitor the payment and use of resources under this grant very carefully.