HC Deb 19 July 1965 vol 716 cc1111-3
19. Mr. Mitchell

asked the Minister of Health what is the controlling and limiting factor in future plans for hospital building.

Mr. K. Robinson

The state of the economy and the need to balance all claims on our national resources.

Mr. Mitchell

Is the Minister aware that there was issued from his Ministry on 12th May a circular to hospital boards which says: Review of the Hospital Plan. The first aim of the review"—

Hon. Members

Reading.

Mr. Mitchell

I am reading in order that this should be an accurate extract from the—

Mr. Speaker

The hon. Gentleman's difficulty is that verbatim quotation is out of order in a supplementary question.

Mr. Mitchell

Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Speaker. What the circular says is that the limiting factor is money. As the limiting factor is money, which seems to be a different answer from the one which the Minister has given, may I ask him whether he is aware that already the abolition of prescription charges has wasted more money than would be needed to build a new district general hospital?

Mr. Robinson

I do not accept the hon. Gentleman's allegations nor the conclusions which he draws from them. There is very little conflict between what he said the circular purported to state and my Answer. I referred to the state of the economy and the need to balance all claims on our national resources. In one word, I dare say that "money" would be a way of expressing the same thing.

Mr. Wood

Could the Minister explain why we have to wait until early next year for the results of the review? He has already given this afternoon examples of the Hospital Plan being reviewed. Will not regional hospital boards have made up their minds long before the end of the year as to how they will proceed?

Mr. Robinson

I want them to do this job thoroughly and to consult local health authorities in doing it. I have asked them to let me have their proposals by 1st November. I have not given any precise date as to when the new programme will be published or any information given of the results of the review except to say that it will be done, I hope, during the first half of 1966. But I think that the boards need till 1st November to do the very considerable job of review which I have asked them to do.

30. Sir R. Thompson

asked the Minister of Health when he will publish his revised hospital building programme; and to what extent his hospital plans for the South-East take account of the increase in population and the change in its distribution forecast in the South-East Study.

Mr. K. Robinson

On publication I cannot add to what I told my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, North (Mr. Wallace) on 31st May; on the second part of the Question, I must ask the hon. Member to await completion of the current review, but, as I stated in reply to a Question by him on 22nd March, I have asked boards to take population changes into account.

Sir R. Thompson

Will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that these very long-range plans, especially when they are deferred, tend to be irrelevant when finally they are put into effect? Will he have a project made in his Ministry to make certain that when the plan comes into effect, he will site the hospitals where new populations will live and work? Will he particularly bear in mind the Croydon area, where we have an immense influx of population but, at present, no reason to feel that we will cope with it in a few years' time?

Mr. Robinson

We are ensuring that regional boards get the best possible population projections to use in their planning. As for planned population developments in the South-East, I rely upon my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government to keep me fully up to date about that.

Mr. Scott-Hopkins

Can the Minister give an assurance that the building of hospitals which have already been started or are in an advanced stage will be continued without delay?

Mr. Robinson

I said in announcing the review of the Hospital Plan that I did not want the review to hold up projects which had started or were ready to start. I repeat that assurance.

Mr. David Steel

Would the right hon. Gentleman give an undertaking that areas which are not development districts will not have their hospital plans prejudiced by the need to provide hospitals in new and expanding areas?

Mr. Robinson

As I have said before this afternoon, it will be for the regional boards to determine the priorities within their own areas.