§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services why, for the purposes of determining the eligibility of the Croydon district health authority for additional financial assistance under the resource allocation working party criteria, a shift has been made from the use of standardised mortality ratios as a yardstick to the use of social deprivation factors; what assessment was made before this shift was made of its implications for the level of resources available to the Croydon district health authority vis-a-vis other comparable district health authorities; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe allocation of resources to district health authorities is a matter for the regional health authority to determine. I understand that relative social deprivation is only one of a number of factors which the South-West Thames regional heath authority takes into account in its resource allocation policy.