Mr. flinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is(a) the total amount of the assessed income support claims within the Yorkshire region for 1993–94 and (b) the Yorkshire regional allocation of the DSS transfer funding in respect of terminal illness special rate income support for 1993–94; what assessment has been made of the implications of the difference between (a) and (b) on hospices within the Yorkshire region; and if she will make a statement;
(2) what is the methodology used in determining the national allocation of the DSS transfer funding in respect of terminal illness special rate income support; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. SackvilleInformation about Department of Social Security (DSS) benefits is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security and for the DSS Benefits Agency. No transfer has been made specifically in relation to terminal illness higher levels of income support (IS). The £5 million transfer from DSS to the health service in respect of hospices was based on the number of hospice patients which it was estimated would446W have claimed the higher level of IS this year had the previous system continued. It was assumed that there would be about 500 claimants of the higher levels of IS in hospices in Great Britain in mid 1993–94. This was based on a 1991 study by "Help the Hospices", which found that 16 per cent. of hospice patients nationally received the higher levels of IS and that this accounted for about 8 per cent. of hospice income.
The allocation of the central funds from the DSS transfer to each region was based on weighted population. This meant that the funds for 1993–94 do not necessarily relate directly to the amount of IS payments received by hospices in a particular region in the previous year. This is because many hospice patients did not claim the higher levels of IS as their care was being provided free of charge.