§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what guidelines his Department gives to National Health Service planning staff to enable them to take account of population trends and local expansion envisaged within local structure plans: and what provision exists to enable planning staff to forecast health care requirements in conjunction with local councils.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe Department has supplied regional health authorities with population projections produced by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys for each of their districts, covering the period 1981 to 2001, but has issued no guidelines on their use. It is for regional and district health authorities to decide what use to make of these projections and of other data, including local structure plans, in discharging their planning responsibilities. In producing their plans district health authorities work closely with local authorities through joint consultative committees.