Clause 3
Health and Social Care Bill
3:15 pm
Liz Kendall (Leicester West, Labour)
That is precisely what the amendment is designed to do—it addresses inequalities in three areas: access to services, the outcomes from those services and underlying health inequalities. Opposition Members are not arguing that it is simply about improving access to services. For the record, I can tell the hon. Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich that although the funding formula covers poverty and deprivation, it also includes specific criteria on age and rurality. It would be wrong to suggest that it does not include age. It is about striking a balance between these factors. Indeed, the Labour Government instituted a review of the funding formula for precisely those reasons.