§ Mr. ChannonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what progress has been made towards providing a greater allocation of resources for health care in Southend, as announced on 12 May 1992,Official Report, column 482;
(2) if she will give a general direction to regional health authorities to ensure that no underfunded district receives less in real terms in 1993–94 than in 1992–93;
(3) what measures she is making to ensure that underfunded health districts receive extra funds annually until the discrepancy is removed.
§ Dr. Mawhinney[holding answer 2 March 1993]: Regional health authorities are responsible for managing the movement of their districts towards weighted capitation funding. The following guidance was issued to all RHAs on 4 December 1992:
Regions will therefore be asked to report on their planned deployment of the 1993–94 allocation and in particular to demonstrate clear progress towards equalisation. The pace of such progress and whether it should he achieved by reducing resources allocated to districts above their capitation share is a matter for individual regions to judge in the light of local circumstances.Comprehensive national information on sub-regional allocations for 1993–94 is not yet available, but the guidance above gives clear direction on the policy to be followed.North East Thames regional health authority gave Southend district health authority £2.7 million real growth in 1992–93 and a further £1.6 million real growth is planned for 1993–94. This growth has occurred over a period when the district's weighted capitation entitlement has also been increasing due to population changes and to changes in the allocation of formula. These changes mean that despite the additional growth, Southend DHA will remain 8 per cent. below its new weighted capitation entitlement in 1993–94. The new DHA into which it will merge in April 1993 will receive further growth in future years with the aim of bringing it to its capitation share.