The Formula is a waste of time as the movement towards parity is too slow?
It was expected that the Arbuthnott Formula would be phased in over 5-6 years. This has not proved possible, given the commitment of the Health Department to ensure that no Board would lose funding as a consequence to moving to the new formula. All Boards are given a standard increase in funds each year. The size of the standard increase is sufficient to meet the main pressures including pay and price inflation and the cost of prescribed drugs, together with funds for developments. Those Boards below their Arbuthnott target allocation are given additional funds (around 0.5% of the unified budget) to help move them towards their parity target at a faster rate.
