§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what support she expects to receive from EC institutions, including finance, under the proposed article 129 of the treaty of Rome, in respect of public health, including finance; whether private or national health service trust hospitals in the United Kingdom will be eligible; and what benefits over existing arrangements she has assessed as, accruing from paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of article 129, respectively.
§ Dr. MawhinneyWe expect the benefits to be greater co-operation between member states and between the community and competent international organisations in the sphere of public health.
Budget lines already exist for particular programme areas within public health, but it is too early to predict the extent to which any funding from the EC would flow into the United Kingdom as a result of this new article.