§ 24. Mr. Chetwyndasked the Minister of Health the additional allocations to each regional hospital board of the extra £1,750,000 for capital expenditure before 31st March, 1959.
§ Mr. Walker-SmithAs the Answer comprises a table of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. ChetwyndCan the Minister give one figure—that for the Newcastle Regional Hospital Board—and say whether that figure will be adequate to cover the very urgent development at Stockton-on-Tees?
§ Mr. Walker-SmithThe figure in the Newcastle region is £105,000 in respect of its share of this extra money. In addition, as the hon. Member may know, the Newcastle region benefits from the special bonus which some regional hospital boards get, and also in the current financial year it is getting about one-fifth of the central funds available for hospital building.
§ Dame Irene WardIs that sum going to help us catch up on the backlog, because if I assessed what the Question meant, it was whether we are going up the ladder, and to ensure that there is constant improvement?
§ Mr. Walker-SmithMy hon. Friend can take it that there is a steady and satisfactory upward progression in this region.
§ Following are the figures:
| TABLE | ||
| REGIONAL HOSPITAL BOARDS | ||
| Estimated Sums from additional allocation to be devoted to capital works | ||
| Newcastle | … | 105,000 |
| Leeds | … | 121,000 |
| Sheffield | … | 138,000 |
| East Anglian | … | 30.000 |
| N.W. Metropolitan | … | 125,000 |
| N.E. Metropolitan | … | 71,000 |
| S.E. Metropolitan | … | 110,000 |
| S.W. Metropolitan | … | 225,000 |
| Oxford | … | 55,000 |
| South Western | … | 140,000 |
| Birmingham | … | 66,000 |
| Manchester | … | 104,000 |
| Liver pool | … | 107,000 |
| Wales | … | 100,000 |
| (Teaching hospitals | … | 217,000) |
§ The sum available for capital expenditure was part of a larger sum and a measure of discretion was left to boards in dividing it between capital and revenue expenditure. The figures for capital are therefore not strictly comparable.