§ 59 and 60. Mr. Awberyasked the Minister of Health (1) the amount of money standing to the credit of hospitals in the south-west region at the time of the taking over of these services by the State; what is the amount today; and what he proposes to do with regard to the future use of these funds;
(2) to arrange to hand over endowment funds to the committees of the hospitals to which they were originally donated, 140W as the local people know the requirements, in order that the wishes of the donors should be fully considered; and if he will ensure that such funds are used for the purposes for which they were originally given, especially where the need for rebuilding or extension is great.
§ Mr. TurtonThe information required by the first two parts of Question No. 59 is not available. I have no power to hand over to hospital committees the endowment funds which were transferred to the Hospital Endowments Fund in 1948 in accordance with Section 7 of the National Health Service Act, 1946. This Section laid down generally the purposes for which and the manner in which such funds might be used.