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Health Inequalities

I thank the hon. Member for Southport (Dr. Pugh) for cutting his comments short, but we want to hear what the Minister has to say. I congratulate the hon. Member for Wigan (Mr. Turner) on securing the debate and on making a passionate contribution. He said exactly what I would have said, if I were a Back Bencher, and I agree fully on behalf of my town, which I may mention later. I wonder whether the hon. Member for Wigan recognises this:""Healthy Towns has all the failings of previous policies, indicating that the Government has learnt nothing from the past mistakes."" It comes from the report of the Select Committee on Health, published on Sunday. I was a proud member of that Committee for many years, but it is still Labour-dominated, and has a Labour Chairman. Nevertheless, it has released a scathing report into health inequalities. If Members have not yet had the opportunity to read it, I ask them please to do so. Not only does it deal with many of the questions that have been raised today, but it sets out some ways in which we can go forward, which is what we all seek. We all wish to improve the quality of health for all our constituents in this great country. I was fascinated to read the report. In many ways, it follows on from the report on funding formula and deficits, which was published when I was a member of the Committee. That argument will go on and on, and I may touch on it in my short contribution. The Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation was rightly asked by the Government to look into the way in which health is funded. I was as surprised as the hon. Member for Stockton, South (Ms Taylor) to read that those experts were not capable of working out how to address the inequalities argument. It is not a question of cash flying back and forth. If it were only about cash going into communities, Glasgow would have the best health outcomes and Wokingham the worst. As we know, Glasgow still gets the greatest amount of cash. We heard about the north-south divide, and the north-east gets a huge proportion—some 70 per cent. more in 2009-10 than other parts of the United Kingdom. I listened intently to the debate on the difference between the north and the south, but those on the Front Benches—I am sure that the Minister has found this when visiting the north-east—know that although they have some fantastic facilities in the north-east, and the area is very well funded, other parts of the country would love to have the same.