Agenda item

The following Motion has been notified in accordance with the requirements of Council Procedure Rule 14, to be moved and seconded by the Members indicated:

This Council Notes:

·         Harrow’s CCG is responsible for funding and allocating resources for healthcare services in Harrow, such as GP practices and walk-in clinics.

·         Across London, Harrow’s Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has the second lowest per capita allocation in 15/16, and one of the lowest for 14/15 and 13/14.

·         In response to a recent question tabled in Parliament by Harrow West Labour MP Gareth Thomas, Health Ministers revealed that Harrow had received the lowest amount of funding per head of any CCG in London over the three year period since the Conservative-led Coalition Government’s top-down re-organisation of the NHS in 2012.

·         This poor funding allocation on NHS spend for Harrow’s residents is a historic trend, with Harrow’s former Primary Care Trust (PCT) also having one of the lowest per capita allocation across London.

·         Gareth Thomas MP has asked the Health Secretary in a Parliamentary question what he is doing to help Harrow’s CCG avoid its projected deficit of £116.4m in 2018-19.

·         The amazing work our doctors, nurses and all staff across our NHS in Harrow do day in day out. All this hard work is in the climate of our local heath service being severely underfunded compared to other parts of London, and across the country.

·         This poor deal for Harrow’s residents is on top of the long running problems of waiting times at Northwick Park Hospital. In November Northwick Park Hospital was one of the worst hospitals in London for meeting the 4 hour A & E waiting time target. Northwick Park Hospital was only able to see 72% of patients in 4 hours against a 95% target. 

·         Harrow Council has started the ‘159’ campaign to get a better deal for its residents. A poor funding settlement from Government means that the Council receives £159 less than the London average for every person in Harrow. That’s £39.8 million this year for the borough as a whole.

This Council Believes:

·         To have both the CCG and local Council receive a well below average funding settlement from Government is a double whammy for our residents.

·         Harrow’s public services should receive a fair funding allocation from Central Government.

·         Our residents deserve to have a local Council and NHS that is properly funded so we can provide the vital services our residents rely on, from street cleaning and care for the elderly to GP services and medical walk in centres.

·         The Council and the CCG have a strong track record of working together to create innovative and preventative work, which is now being put at risk by the Government’s insufficient support for the NHS both locally in Harrow and across the country.

·         All Councillors should be joining the efforts of the administration and local MP to secure a fair deal for our residents.

The Council resolves:

·         To support Harrow West MP Gareth Thomas in his efforts to secure a fair funding deal for Harrow’s CCG.

·         The Council’s Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of state, Jeremy Hunt MP, to ask for a review of the inadequate funding resources that our local Harrow CCG receives.

·         The Council to work constructively with the local CCG over the coming months and years to campaign for a fair funding settlement from Central Government so we can continue to deliver the outstanding health and social care that our residents expect.

At Item 20 the Council received a Motion in the names of Councillor Anne Whitehead and Councillor Varsha Parmar in the following terms:

RESOLVED:  That the Motion set out at (i) above, be adopted.