§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for. Social Services what was the total number of stores orders raised (a) by regional health authorities and (b) by district 147W health authorities for 1983 and 1984; and if he will show, in each case, the percentage of these orders which are delivered direct to hospitals, clinics, and so on and do not pass through the health authority stores.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeWe do not collect centrally details of orders placed by health authorities for equipment and supplies. We have asked the Health Service Supply Council, the body responsible for the supply policy in the National Health Service, to concentrate, as one of its major objectives, on a rationalisation of the existing storage and distribution system. The council's progress is recorded in its annual reports, copies of which are held in the Library.