To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2009, Official Report, column 898W, on health services: Greater London, what assessment he has made of the effects on the revenue of primary care trusts in (a) Enfield and (b) London in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11 of changes to the formula used to determine revenue allocations to such trusts. (269652)

The 2009-10 and 2010-11 revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) were made on the basis of a new funding formula, recommended by the independent advisory committee on resource allocation.

The funding formula determines PCT target allocations. Actual allocations to PCTs depend also on the pace of change policy—how additional funding is distributed to move PCTs towards their target allocations. It is therefore not possible to say what the allocations would have been in 2009-10 and 2010-11 if the previous funding formula had still applied.

The Department is moving all PCTs towards their target allocations as quickly as possible, but this must be balanced with the need to ensure that all PCTs are appropriately supported with stable funding that both supports existing commitments and allows long-term planning, as well as recognising the unavoidable cost pressures that all PCTs face.

Enfield PCT moved from being 0.1 per cent. above target under the previous funding formula at the close of 2008-09 to opening 2009-10 under the new formula at 2.3 per cent. above target. This means that under the 2009-10 and 2010-11 pace of change policy, Enfield PCT received a 10.6 per cent. average increase in funding over the two years, equivalent to a cumulative cash increase of £44.1 million. The average increase for London PCTs over the two years is 10.7 per cent.

The 2009-10 and 2010-11 allocations made to the PCTs in the London strategic health authority and the difference between their actual and target allocations (the distance from target) are listed in the following table.