Oral Answers to Questions

Derek Thomas Excerpts

Wednesday 7th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Obviously I will look at the hon. Gentleman’s request, but those who are concerned about the way in which policing is being undertaken in their area should actually speak to their local police, who make operational decisions about what is happening. We have protected overall police spending and continue to do so. Indeed more money is being put into the police. I remind him that it was a Labour shadow Home Secretary who said that police budgets could be cut by 10%.

[Derek Thomas (St Ives) (Con)]

Q11. NHS figures show that, in the south-west, the growth in NHS funding is 2.2% less than the national average. It is also true that the situation is more challenging in the south-west because of an ageing demographic and issues due to sparsity. Does my right hon. Friend agree that providers in the south-west, including NHS Kernow, deserve their fair share of NHS funding? Will she take action to address this inequality?

[The Prime Minister]

The national formula, which is the basis for calculating the funding for clinical commissioning groups, takes into account a large number of factors, including rurality and demographics, which are the factors that my hon. Friend suggests need to be considered. NHS Kernow did see an increase in its funding this year and it will see a further increase next year, taking its funding to more than £760 million. That is part of our commitment to ensuring that we put extra funding into the NHS, but of course we continue to look at ensuring that the distribution of that funding takes account of all the factors that it needs to.