§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the management costs of health authorities in the 1980–81 accounts and in each subsequent year to 31 March, detailing by authority in each region.
§ Mr. DorrellNo comprehensive information specifically on the management costs of health authorities is held centrally. However, a table showing the expenditure on headquarters administration as reported in the annual accounts of each regional and district health authority in England for the years since the establishment of district health authorities on 1 April 1982, has been placed in the Library. Figures for each special health authority for the London postgraduate teaching hospitals, which cannot be attributed to particular regions, are also included for completeness.
556WRegions are managed in an integrated way and it would be misleading to interpret regional health authority (RHA) data in isolation from the districts they manage. In particular, the division of functions between the RHA and districts and between districts varies from region to region. Consequently the region totals provide a more valid picture.