§ Mr. LambornI beg to move Amendment No. 122, in page 3, line 34, at end insert:
(4) The Inner London Education Authority shall have power to make such arrangements, for securing the provision of free medical treatment for persons for whom full-time and part-time education is provided by the Authority in pursuance of paragraph (a) of section 41 of the Education Act 1944, as are1348necessary for securing that comprehensive facilities for free medical treatment are available to them'.
§ Mr. Deputy SpeakerWith the amendment we will take Amendment No. 123, in page 3, line 43, leave out 'Education Act' and insert 'said Act of'.
§ Mr. LambornThe object of the amendment is to ensure that students in the inner London area will be able to continue to receive the valuable supporting medical services that they at present receive under the co-ordinated service run by the Inner London Education Authority.
The Bill recognises the special needs of university health services, which are to be allowed to continue to provide a comprehensive service for students. All the reasons that could be advanced for a university health service can equally be made for the ILEA area, with the tremendous concentration in central London with, because they are concentrated in a great city, possibly greater stresses and tribulations than in other places.
The amendment seeks only to establish what has been recognised in the past, that there is a need for the Inner London Education Authority to provide this comprehensive service for the students in its care. If it does not continue under the control of the authority, under the arrangements in the Bill, the present coordinated service will be split between the various area authorities. This alone is a special reason why the excellent co-ordinated service provided by the authority should be allowed to continue.
It was suggested by a Government spokesman in another place that it might be necessary eventually to return to the avenue of a local act, which is how certain of the present ILEA powers were derived to meet the special needs of students in London. I invite the Secretary of State to say that he is now prepared to recognise those special needs by accepting the amendment.
§ Mr. AlisonThe amendment seeks to secure that the Inner London Education Authority can continue to make such arrangements as are necessary to secure a free treatment service for students of any age attending ILEA further education establishments, including colleges of 1349 education. While the Government appreciate the desire of ILEA to safeguard the health of ILEA students, it would be entirely contrary to the principle of a unified health service for the authority or any other education authority to have power to provide general medical services outside the National Health Service.
I can give the hon. Member for Southwark (Mr. Lamborn) the assurance, however, in response to his eloquent plea, that a service is being brought into being by the authority. I can give on my right hon. Friend's behalf an assurance that the student health centres as existing on 1st April 1974 will be taken over and the scope and range of medical services being provided from them will be maintained by the National Health Service. Thus, the salaried doctors employed by the authority would be retained and taken over by the area health authority on their existing terms of service and with their existing duties.
I hope that, with that undertaking, the hon. Members and his right hon. Friends will feel that we have given all the assurances necessary to safeguard the reality of the service that ILEA is now bringing into existence.
§ Mr. LambornI have no doubt that if the education authority is dissatisfied with the formula it will endeavour to promote a Private Bill at a later date. In view of the undertakings given by the Under-Secretary, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.