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Financial Allocation Formula
7. Mr. Mike Gapes (Ilford, South): What plans he has to review the financial allocation formula for health authorities. [115154]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr. John Denham): A review of the formula is already under way. We want a fairer formula that contributes to our goal of reducing health inequalities. All parts of the NHS will benefit from the cash boost announced last week. Redbridge and Waltham Forest health authority's share of the first £660 million is more than £6 million. That will give the health authority an 8.23 per cent. cash increase for the coming year.
Mr. Gapes: My hon. Friend's announcement of extra money will be most welcome in Redbridge and Waltham Forest. However, does he agree that the existing allocations formula, with its staff market forces factor, causes difficulties for several London health authorities for whom there is a distinct cliff edge between one authority and its neighbour? Will he look closely at the
impact of higher wages in the City of London? Those high wages mean that, because of the formula, people in outer-London boroughs lose out financially.
Mr. Denham: The advisory committee that is considering the formula is examining many issues; for example, market forces; rurality; and the number of the older population. They must all be taken into account; it will be some time before there is any prospect of a change to the formula.
However, with the additional £6 million, on top of the large increase in resources already announced for next year, the key priority for the health authority, the trust, and, indeed, for my hon. Friend, must be to ensure that every penny is used effectively, so that we do not just spend more money in his area but modernise the health service and improve services to patients.
Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex):
Is the hon. Gentleman aware of the serious difficulty that has arisen in West Sussex as a result of the extremely bad funding arrangement for West Sussex county council? That has left many geriatric beds in hospitals blocked with people who should rightfully be cared for in old people's homes. Will the hon. Gentleman liaise with his colleagues in other Departments to see what help can be given to West Sussex county council to overcome that problem? It has led to the council being unable to cope with its obligations.
Mr. Denham:
I hear what the hon. Gentleman has to say. I am not familiar with the details of the situation in West Sussex, although I know that social services departments throughout England received a good increase in their standing spending assessments last year. I shall look into his particular concerns.
However, the additional £9.95 million of health resources heading to the West Sussex health authority, under the announcement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State today, will make a significant difference. Among the matters that we have suggested that health authorities should consider is the development of intermediate care provision--to offer that bridge between hospital and home that can prevent bed blocking.
If the hon. Gentleman really believes that that amount is not enough, he should look back at the record of the previous Government. During 18 years, they never dreamt of investing in the health service in that way.
Mr. David Hinchliffe (Wakefield):
Do the allocation arrangements mentioned by the Secretary of State today, which bypass health authorities, indicate some thinking about the possible future role of those authorities?
Mr. Denham:
We simply wanted to achieve one important effect: we want the money to be spent on real services and not on red tape. We want to put it into the hands of front-line doctors and nurses in primary care groups, who, in any case, would have been responsible for commissioning at least 60 per cent. of services from this April. By making it clear that the money must go into front-line services for patients, we can ensure that the extra investment will have the fastest possible impact on real patients and their treatment in the health service.
Mr. Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge):
Can the Minister give the House an assurance that he will
Mr. Denham:
In answer to an earlier question, I said that a review of the allocation formula was under way. It will consider a wide range of factors. If the hon. Gentleman is seriously suggesting that a Conservative Government would wish to adopt a purely per capita system of funding that took no account of, for example, providing services in rural areas, inequalities in health needs or the size of health populations, that is astonishing. Such an approach would amount to a huge shift of resources away from those people who suffer most from ill health and who die earlier towards those areas where health provision is best. Some changes may be necessary to the allocation formula in relation to a range of issues. However, the hon. Gentleman should think again about going in the direction that he suggested.
8. Mr. John Healey (Wentworth):
If he will make a statement on progress with the new immunisation programme against meningitis C-type in Yorkshire. [115155]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Yvette Cooper):
The first phase of the new meningococcal group C vaccine programme in Yorkshire and across the country is progressing well. We are on target to offer the vaccine to all under-18s by the end of this year. I welcome the hard work of those across the national health service and that of the manufacturers who have done so much to put the programme in place so quickly.
Mr. Healey:
I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. She will remember the three local teenage deaths in nine days last winter from the C-type killer. Is she, therefore, aware of the strong support in Rotherham for the Government's determination to make the United Kingdom the first country in the world to use this new vaccine in a national immunisation programme? Will she pay tribute to the health authority, the schools and other local agencies in Rotherham which together have achieved 91 per cent. coverage among the vulnerable 15 to 17-year-olds in schools? In particular, Rawmarsh comprehensive has achieved a 99 per cent. immunisation rate. Will she confirm that we have not seen such figures for any vaccination programme for that age group in the past?
Yvette Cooper:
I certainly pay tribute to the work done in Rotherham and to the high take-up rates that have been achieved. I am pleased to tell the House of the impact of the meningitis C vaccination programme so far. The data we have suggest that the new vaccine has already cut winter cases in the groups who were immunised first by 75 per cent. and that the number of tragic deaths from meningitis C in those age groups has fallen already. That proves how right my right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) was, as the former
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):
Will the Minister ensure that there is proper publicity, so that everyone who is eligible for the vaccine will be assured of it within a year? Will she join me in encouraging hospital staff and medical care workers generally to have the vaccinations to which they are also entitled?
Yvette Cooper:
I welcome the hon. Lady's support for the meningitis C vaccination programme. We have already begun television advertising to make people aware of the programme. Vaccinations for children of school age are being carried out in schools, and awareness in schools is also important.
Mr. Kevin Barron (Rother Valley):
Despite the excellent targets that are being met in the schools in Rotherham, some people are excluded from the programme. Will my hon. Friend ensure that there are means of contacting people who are not in schools, so that as many people as possible receive the vaccinations? Through my hon. Friend the Minister, may I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson), who spent a lot of time and energy when he was at the Department of Health making sure that we had the type of protection that our country and our children deserve?
Yvette Cooper:
I certainly support my hon. Friend's remarks. It is worth reinforcing the point that we are the first country in the world to have this vaccination programme in place. It is a tribute to the work of the NHS that we have managed to do that. My hon. Friend is right to say that there are groups of people--particularly 15 to 17-year-olds who are not in school--that we want to find other ways to reach. The under-fives and the 15 to 17-year-olds who are not at school will be reached through their general practitioners, but we are keen to make further progress on that in future.
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