§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in the light of the fact that Sir John Boynton is currently in Rhodesia carrying out duties as Election Commissioner and thus unable to fulfil his job as chairman of the management review team investigating Rampton hospital, whether he will appoint a new chairman in order to complete the inquiry quickly.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinBefore appointing Sir John Boynton as Election Commissioner in Rhodesia my noble Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs consulted me. After talking to Sir John I was satisfied that there was no reason to believe that the work of the Rampton hospital management review team would be in any way prejudiced by this appointment. The review team is currently working in small groups studying different aspects of the hospital's organisation and Sir John will be able to keep in close touch with their progress and will be available for consultation on matters of importance. The team's vice-chairman, Dr. J. M. Roberts, will act for Sir John in his absence, as necessary. The team still hopes, as it announced after its first meeting in September, to report not later than the summer of 1980.