§ Mr. WheelerTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has taken a decision on the proposal submitted to him by the North West Thames regional health authority to amalgamate the district health authorities of Brent and Paddington and North Kensington; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NewtonI have today approved this proposal and am arranging for orders to be laid before Parliament. We are proposing that the new authority will come into being on 1 April 1988 and will be called the Parkside health authority.
In view of the comments made on the consultation document issued last autumn I am writing to the regional chairman indicating areas to which I wish special attention to be paid. A number of respondents drew attention to the problems posed to the City of Westminster by the configuration of health authority boundaries in this part of inner London. I think that it is important to try and find a solution to these difficulties, and I have therefore asked the chairmen of NE and NW Thames regional health authorities to see what might be done.