HC Deb 13 May 1985 vol 79 cc32-3W
Mr. Silvester

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much additional cash has been made available to the North-Western regional health authority for each year since 1978–79 as a result of redistribution of resources under the resources allocation working party formula.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

The Government have steadily increased spending on health services in real terms since 1979 and have been distributing most of that increase to regions such as the North- Western which had been deprived of their fair share of health resources in the past. The table shows the increases in the revenue spending of North- Western regional health authority over and above the general level of inflation for each year since 1978–79. The table also shows the region's progress towards its fair share of national revenue resources in line with the recommendation of the resources allocation working party.

Revenue spending £ million net * Growth in economic cost terms† Region's distance from target allocation
percentage percentage
1978–79 380.3 -8.93
1979–80 460.5 3.7 -8.76
1980–81 599.9 9.8 -7.52
1981–82 65.3 2.4 -6.14
1982–83 725.9 0.6 -5.70
1983–84 764.6 0.7 -4.03
1984–85 808.0 1.1 -3.68
1985–86 849.8 -1.83
* 1978–79 to 1983–84: Actual expenditure from health authorities' summarised accounts.
1984–85: Provisional expenditure.
1985–86: Initial allocation.
† Expenditure compared with general inflation as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Deflator.