§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what indications of health and social need for inclusion in the resource allocation working party formulae have been developed since 1979;
(2) if he will list the criteria used in the resource allocation working party formulae and the changes made since 1979;
231W(3) if he will make a statement on the effects on resources allocated to each region of those changes made to the resource allocation working party formulae since 1979.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe criteria used in the resource allocation working party formula are set out in the report of the resource allocation working party 1976, "Sharing resources for health in England", and the follow up report of the advisory group on resource allocation 1980. Copies of both are available in the Library.
The main change since 1979 in the revenue formula at national level has been our decision, with health service support, to base calculations of regions' target shares of resources on population projections for the year of allocation rather than, as before, on population estimates which relate to the position two years earlier. This change, introduced for the 1985–86 allocations, makes the formula more sensitive to the needs of regions with a rapidly growing or declining population.
For capital RAWP, the main change — again with health service support—has been the phasing out of an element in the formula reflecting inherited inequalities in the capital stock. This element had proved difficult to quantify accurately, and since 1984–85, capital targets have been calculated with reference to weighted population only.
There have been a number of other minor and technical changes.
It is for regions to decide how best to apply the RAWP principles in distributing resources to districts. Regions have developed their own approaches, and some are known to have introduced measures of social deprivation to reflect local circumstances. The hon. Member may like to approach individual regions for further information.
The RAWP formula is used to calculate a region's "target", or fair share of the resources available nationally. Changes in the formula therefore have an impact on a Region's target and hence on its distance from target. The rate of progress towards target has however always been a matter for Ministers' judgment. In addition to the RAWP calculation, we take account of the pace at which "RAWP — gaining" regions can prepare to make good use of additional resources, and the extent to which above target regions can adjust their plans to more modest resource allocations without serious disruption to services. It is not therefore possible to identify separately the impact of changes in the RAWP formula on regions' allocations.