§ Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) when he will announce his decision as to the reorganisation and boundary changes of the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board;
(2) whether he will divide the area of the present Sheffield Regional Hospital Board into two parts and establish a new regional hospital board based on Nottingham.
§ Sir K. JosephI have concluded after local consultations that when the National Health Service is reorganised the new regional health authority should cover the proposed Metropolitan County of South Yorkshire and the Counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. Humberside would be covered by the same regional health authority as West and North Yorkshire.
To create two or more regions would cut across important health service links. I am satisfied that the new region will not be too large for the efficient exercise of regional health authority functions, and that any difficulties that might arise from the presence within the region of three medical schools can be satisfactorily overcome.
I propose no changes in advance of the general reorganisation of the National Health Service. It will be for the new regional authorities to decide the location of their headquarters.