§ 28. Mr. Duffyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she is satisfied with the present distribution of resources between regions within the National Health Service.
§ Mrs. CastleNo. In 1969 a long overdue move was made towards recognising relative deprivation in the way Health Service resources were distributed. The Government are determined to take this process further and we have set up a working party, with members from the Department and the NHS, to review the arrangements for distributing NHS capital and revenue to RHAs, AHAs and districts respectively with a view to establishing a method of securing, as soon as practicable, a pattern of distribution responsive objectively, equitably and efficiently to relative need, and to make recommendations. The working party has submitted a report, proposing interim 145W changes in the basis and methods of allocating finance to regional health authorities for 1976–77. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House. We shall be making no decisions on the report's recommendations until we have considered the views of the interested bodies now being consulted.