§ Mr. NellistTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services when the additional sum for the West Midlands regional health authority which he announced on 16 December,Official Report, column 1104, will be paid to the regional health authority; and if there are any restrictions on its use.
§ Mrs. CurrieThe West Midlands regional health authority was informed on 16 December that its share of the additional funds available this year was £6.7 million. Formal notification that the region's cash limit had been increased by this amount was issued on 4 January.
It is for the regional health authority to determine how the funds available should be distributed. We are, however, requiring it to ensure that the additional resources are used where necessary to maintain established services, to assist where hospital services are being reorganised for the future, and to secure a sound financial base on which to build plans for 1988–89.