LORD Smith of Leigh has won a government pledge for fairer funding for poorer areas.

The Wigan Council Leader, in a Lords debate that he initiated, highlighted that inequalities in the level of health grants given to old industrial communities like Leigh and Wigan were compounding their existing legacy of ill health.

He stressed that overall he was delighted with increased investment in the health service, but called on the government to redirect resources to areas of greatest need.

He revealed that Wigan and Leigh had higher than average levels of mortality, lower life expectancy and some of the highest rates of heart disease and lung cancer in the country.

Nine out of 10 of Wigan's wards are among the most socially deprived 20 per cent in the UK.

Average amount

He said despite this the average amount of health funding for Wigan and Bolton was £799 per person compared to a national average of £817. This means that the local health economy is being short changed by £10m, while Wigan has fewer doctors than the Greater Manchester average.

Lord Smith said: "Because of our mining and textile heritage we have a legacy of industrial diseases. This in turn means that people often become ill at a younger age than that at which extra health funding becomes available."

In reply Baroness Andrews said: "The government has been able to ensure that in the current financial year Wigan and Bolton Health Authority will receive an increase of £45 million over last year -- a real terms increase of 7.48 per cent. That is the largest in the north west and means Wigan and Bolton are near the top of the list in terms of extra cash this year."

She vowed that the health funding system would be changed in 2003 to reduce 'avoidable inequalities'.