HC Deb 17 February 1965 vol 706 cc1176-8
21. Mr. Stodart

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has yet concluded the review of the hospital building programme which he has undertaken.

36. Mr. MacArthur

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will complete his review of the hospital building programme in Scotland.

Mr. Ross

My review of the hospital building programme will necessarily take some time to complete. The results will be published as soon as possible but I cannot yet say when that will be.

Mr. Stodart

Can the right hon. Gentleman square to the satisfaction of the House his criticisms of the review last year, which he criticised on the ground that it followed within two years of the original plan, and his intention now to review the review within seven months? Can he say what is the purpose of the second review? Is it to reduce the total building programme, or increase it, or merely to adjust priorities within it?

Mr. Ross

We want to ensure that the priorities of the last Administration were right. The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that there were certain criticisms of the second review of the hospital programme and we have every reason and, I believe, duty to review the hospital building programme to see exactly what should be done.

Mr. MacArthur

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that it is he and his right hon. Friends who have their priorities upside down? Is he aware that the cost of abolishing prescription charges in Scotland is about £2 million a year, which represents roughly half the cost of a new 600-bed general hospital? Would he not be better employed using this money to buy hospitals instead of buying votes?

Mr. Ross

I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we have got our priorities right. May I remind him, in respect of what he says about prescription charges, that this country was in difficulties. The Tory Government introduced those charges when "We never had it so good"; they forgot all about them, and never put them down.

Mr. Noble

Yes, but the right hon. Gentleman perhaps has not noticed that his right hon. Friend the Minister of Health has announced an extra amount for the English hospital programme. We, therefore, in Scotland would rather have expected him to have done the same. Is he slower in his review, or merely less convincing to his colleagues?

Mr. Ross

No. If the same situation had arisen in Scotland we would have taken exactly the same steps. I would remind the right hon. Gentleman that even before that we had got an adjustment of £500,000 for hospital building, arising out of the decision which was taken about the siting of a university in Scotland.

Mr. Noble

So the right hon. Gentleman in fact is saying he has not anything to do now because we did it?

Several Hon. Members rose

Mr. Speaker

We must get on. We have got through a minimal number of Questions.