§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals closed in(a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000 and (e) 2001 to date. [10511]
§ Mr. HuttonI apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002,Official Report, column 192W.
Information on hospital closures ceased to be collected in 1991 following the introduction of the national health service internal market and trusts.
The Government intend to make the best use of existing and new hospitals to improve access and standards of care for the whole population. The largest hospital building programme in the history of the NHS is under way. Since May 1997, 68 major hospital developments worth over £7.6 billion have been approved to proceed.
Last year, for the first time since 1971, the number of general and acute beds increased by 714.