§ Mr. Newensasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make 599W a statement on overspending within the Harlow health district; and if the total amount spent within the district during the period of overspending exceeds the provisional target allocation based upon the formula produced by the National Resource Allocation Working Party.
§ Mr. MoyleThe overspending in Harlow Health District has been mainly attributed to poor financial advice at district level. The measures agreed by the Essex Area Health Authority to rectify the overspending took into account the need to minimise the effect on patient services in the district.
The resource allocation working party did not identify a basis for target alloccations at health district level but the Essex AHA is currently endeavouring to produce allocations for its health districts based on the principles established by the resources allocation working party.