§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what factors underlay the recent allocation of additional funding to the National Health Service in Northern Ireland; what estimate she has made of the proportionality of this additional funding in relation to(a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales; and if she will make a statement. [16959]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyThe package announced on 14 October provided an additional £300 million of funding for health care across the UK. One Hundred and ninety million pounds of this money was apportioned in line with the Barnett formula which reflects population size, and Northern Ireland got its fair share. For England, the Department of Health's share was supplemented by internal reallocations and a long-standing claim on the Reserve.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when she expects to publish the consultation paper on the revised health service structure in Northern Ireland. [16934]
§ Mr. WorthingtonI intend to publish a consultation paper on new arrangements for commissioning and delivering health and social services in Northern Ireland in January 1998.