§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the number of hospital beds in operation on 30 September each year since 1970 in the National Health Service.
§ Mr. John PattenInformation is not collected centrally in precisely the form requested. The average daily number of available beds during each calendar year from 1970 to 1982, the latest available year, in the National Health Service in England is given in the table:
Year Average daily number of available beds 1970 423,621 1971 419,612 1972 412,664 1973 403,526 1974 396,235 1975 387,632 1976 383,132 1977 375,926 1978 369,235 1979 361,670 1980 355,979 1981 351,505 1982 348,104