§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make inquiries from regional hospital boards concerning the extent of delays, difficulties and under-utilisation of any of their out-patient or day therapy facilities caused by shortage or uncertainties in the associated ambulance services.
§ Mr. AlisonI have no evidence to suggest that a general inquiry is necessary but if the hon. Member knows of any specific cases of difficulty and sends me details I will look into them.
§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek to obtain and publish the total establishment of personnel in the ambulance services administered by local authorities in England and Wales, their total strength, and name the five ambulance services which are most under strength and their percentage of under establishment.
§ Mr. AlisonThe latest available complete figures for England and Wales relate to 30th September, 1970 and are as 207W follows, taking establishment as the sum of strength and vacancies.
England Wales Strength 15,838 1,005 Vacancies 639 32 Establishment 16,477 1,037 Information for 30th September, 1971, is available for most authorities and, taking the percentage relationship between vacancies and establishment as the measure of understrength, the five authorities most understrength are:
Percentage understrength Dudley Country Borough 12.1 West sufflok Country Council 9.5 Rotherham Country Borought 9.1 Northampton Country Borought 8.8 Sunderland Country Borought 8.0
§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if, in view of the closure of casualty departments of hospitals in the London area, he will be prepared to provide financial and other help to the Greater London Council in order to offset the additional calls on the resources of their ambulance service;
(2) if he will make recommendations to local authorities concerning the establishment of ambulance services in proper relationship to the tasks which they are now actually called on to perform, and if he will provide appropriately adjusted rate support grants.
§ Mr. AlisonThe provision of ambulance services to meet local needs is, under the terms of Section 27 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, the responsibility of county councils, county boroughs and, in London, the Greater London Council, and it is for these authorities to consider how to match services to tasks. Estimated expenditure by local authorities on ambulance services, including that by the Greater London Council, is taken into account in the Government's rate support grant to local authorities.