§ Mr. Patrick Jenkinasked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to announce his policy on the future of the post-graduate hospitals.
§ Mr. MoyleDiscussions have been going on for some time about the future administration of these hospitals, but my right hon. Friend will not reach a decision until he has received comments on a formal consultative document which is to be published shortly.
On 28th June I met representatives of interested health and academic bodies, including the boards of governors of the hospitals. There was considerable support for the early establishment of a new authority to which the boards of governors would report, the functions of which would include the task of considering the desirability of some further changes in management arrangements and how further progress might best be made towards integrating the activities of the hospitals 817W with those of other parts of the NHS. This possibility will be canvassed in the forthcoming consultative document.
The order under which the boards of governors were preserved in 1974 will expire on 22nd February 1979. My right hon. Friend has it in mind to seek the agreement of the House later in the year to the preservation of the boards for a further period of two or three years. This would allow time, among other things, for examination of the implications of the forthcoming report of the Royal Commission on the National Health Service.