§ Mr. McGradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what further steps will be taken by the(a) Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and (b) Eastern Health and Social Services Board to address the funding imbalance of the Down Lisburn Health and Social Services Trust; and if he will make a statement. [128311]
§ Angela SmithA target has been set, by the Department, in "Priorities for Action 2003–04", that all HSS Boards should have strategies to address locality equity issues prepared by March 2004 and work is ongoing on this. I understand that the Eastern Health and Social Services Board intend to publish their latest assessment of the locality equity position within their area in the autumn. It is their policy, endorsed by the Department, to ensure that existing services are maintained and to address equity issues by levelling up resources through skewing new money to populations that are currently receiving less than their target share. For example the population of the Down Lisburn area gained by some £1.5 million through such a skewing strategy in 2003–04. It should be noted that equity assessments are based on the needs of a population living in an area and not on the funding of any specific Trust.
Locality equity is a priority for the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety but it must be balanced by the need to ensure that existing service provision is not destabilised. This results in change being phased in over a period, usually some 3–4 years.