§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what independent studies and evaluation exercises he has undertaken of the deprivation factor in the calculation of the health spending formula in the different health authorities in Wales;
(2) what consultations he has had with the Welsh health authorities on the variation of the capitation formula for procurement and primary health care to correspond to variations in deprivation.
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesA review of the relationship between morbidity, social deprivation and health care needs was carried out for the Welsh Office by Dr. Roy Carr Hill of the University of York Centre for Health Economics in 1990. Dr. Carr Hill's report, a copy of which is in the Library of the House, helped to inform my right hon. Friend's decision, following consultation with health authorities, on the structure of the weighted capitation formula for health authority revenue allocations in Wales. The House was informed of this on 21 March 1991, at columns 178–80.
Copies of the relevant consultation paper, "Implementing the White Paper: Options for a Weighted Capitation Revenue Resource Allocation Formula", are in the Library of the House. The treatment of social deprivation is amongst the issues examined in the paper.
My right hon. Friend has made it clear that he is willing to review the formula used in Wales if agreed methods can be devised to distinguish the effects of higher levels of sickness and social deprivation on the relative resource needs of health authorities in Wales.
The Welsh Office will be examining the 1991 census data now becoming available to see how this impacts upon the formula shares of health authorities in Wales. It has also invited Mid Glamorgan health authority to submit a research proposal to examine further how the effects of social deprivation might be reflected specially in the formula and how this might be weighted compared to the overall "sickness factor" currently used. Subject to the research proposal satisfying other authorities and academic referees, central funding towards such research will be considered.