§ Mr. Gareth WardellTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the funds allocated per head of population for the financial year 1991–92, for each health authority in Wales for(a) contractual health services they will purchase and (b) non-contractual health services, including emergency treatment received by patients outside their resident health authority area.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettRevenue allocations to health authorities in 1991–92 are not per capita based nor have they been divided into separate allocations for contractual and non-contractual purposes. Within their overall resources, health authorities have discretion as to the amount they commit to service contracts and the amounts they set aside as contingency reserves to meet the costs of non-contractual referrals and emergencies. It is therefore not possible to provide the information in the form requested.
The 1991–92 revenue allocations represent the first step in the transitional process of moving toward a method of resource allocation to reflect authorities' new roles as purchasers of services for their resident population. They have been funded in 1991–92 on the basis of their residents' use of services—both within and outside their areas. These allocations simply translate the historical distribution of resources from one in which the money flowed direct to service providers, to one in which it flows via district of residence. Eventually, revenue resource allocations will be per capita based. but weighted using a formula taking into account factors such as age, ill health and the cost of providing services in rural areas. The transition is expected to be completed by 1998–99 when each authority will receive its formula share of funds. Details of the new weighted capitation formula and the arrangements for transition were provided in the Secretary of State's reply of 21 March to the hon. Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Jones).