§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has examined the findings of the Bristol pathologist specialising in sudden infant deaths.
§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley[holding answer 27 April 1990]: We are aware of a three-year study due for completion in 1993 which the department of child health at Bristol maternity hospital is undertaking into factors which may be contributing to sudden infant deaths. I understand that the team, which includes a paediatric pathologist, will be collecting information on the social and medical history of infants who die and recording data on the thermal environment and levels of electro-magnetic radiation present in their homes. Comparisons will be made with a control group of healthy infants. We await the outcome of this research with keen interest.
412Wthe 1988–89 allocations; what is the difference between the allocation estimated as above and the actual allocation; and if he will express the actual allocation as a percentage of the estimated allocation.
§ Mr. Freeman[holding answer 4 April 1990]: The table shows the information which is available, and 1988–89 was the final year of allocations under the resource allocation working party (RAWP) formula. Allocations in 1989–90 were based on a uniform increase for all regions, while 1990–91 allocations represent the beginning of the introduction of the new weighted capitation formula proposed in "Working for Patients".
It is not possible to estimate what regions would have received in 1990–91 if the old RAWP formula had been applied. Allocations in 1988–89 were based on ministerial judgment about the right pace of movement towards funding targets set by the old allocation formula. The question of how Ministers would have exercised their judgment in 1990–91 if the old system had continued is an entirely hypothetical one.
Furthermore, the application of the RAWP formula would require information which is no longer collected.