§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the special increment for teaching paid to each medical and dental school in England; and what that sum represents per student.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe service increment for teaching—SIFT—is allocated to regional health Authorities to compensate hospitals for the additional service costs incurred through providing clinical facilities for undergraduate medical and dental education and research. In 1990–91, SIFT amounted to £343 million in total. It is allocated to RHAs according to numbers of undergraduate medical and dental students, at rates of £32,017 per medical student and £12,764 per dental student in 1990–91. For students in London, these figures attract a 9 per cent. weighting.
RHAs should distribute SIFT to specific hospitals according to a range of factors, taking advice from universities, and other research interests as appropriate. Information on sub-regional distribution is not collected centrally.