§ Mr. Penhaligonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many hospital operating theatres there are per 100,000 population in each regional health authority area in England and Wales.
§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services why she has abandoned the planned experimental detoxification centre at Birmingham; and what is the estimated saving in public expenditure after taking into account the costs which habitual drunken offenders place on public expenditure.
§ Dr. OwenFor some time the Department has been considering whether to support a number of experimental detoxification units including one at Birmingham. Taking account of financial and other constraints it has been necessary to select only two or three schemes, each offering a different form of detoxification service; those selected are also likely to have an earlier operational start than was possible in Birmingham. The money earmarked originally for this scheme has been reallocated within the experimental detoxification programme.