§ Mr. Higginsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, (1) pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Worthing on 25 July, Official Report, c. 350–51, regarding the resources allocation working party, why health regions do not calculate their targets on a consistent basis, thus making comparison between regions possible; if he will issue a direction to ensure that this is done in future; and if he will make a statement;
462W(2) if he will take steps to accelerate the reallocation of resources to health districts which are underfunded on the resources allocation working party formula.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe underlying objective of the resources allocation working party was
to secure that there would eventually be equal opportunity of access to health care for people at equal risk".It recognised that this meant better distribution of real resources, and that better distribution of finance is a means rather than the end.
It is important to ensure that increases in allocation actually produce improvements in services, so allocation policies are crucial to the achievement of strategic and operational objectives, which themselves take individual regions' and districts' services towards levels which give equal opportunity of access according to need. It is also important, in measuring relative need within regions by calculating targets for districts, that regional health authorities take account of local problems and circumstances, and it would not help them in this if we were to insist on their using a common methodology which prevented them from measuring aspects of services which they judge to be important in their individual regions.
We are devoting greather financial resources to the NHS now than ever before. We regard it as crucially important that health authorities manage their services effectively and efficiently so as to give patients the best possible service. There has been significant progress towards the objective of equality of access and we expect authorities to plan for further progress by better deployment and use of real resources for the benefit of patients. Movement of districts' allocations towards target is, therefore, only one criterion by which we judge success.
§ Mr. Higginsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will ensure that when additional financial resources are allocated to a district health authority by a regional authority for a specific project the district will not be expected to find any necessary manpower from its existing manpower resources.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNo. The allocation of manpower targets across districts, staff groups and services is a matter for local decision depending on local circumstances, policies and priorities. Most health authorities have some improvements to parts of their services under way which require some additional staff and their manpower targets represent the balance between those new posts on the one hand and the ending of less necessary posts in other parts of the service on the other.