§ Mr. GowTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether he will list those who were present at the meeting attended by the Minister for Health at the Grand hotel, Eastbourne, on 20 January; and those who stayed at the Grand hotel at public expense for the night of either 19 or 20 January;
(2) which Ministers in his Department attended a meeting at the Grand hotel, Eastbourne, on 20 January; on what date was the date and place of that meeting decided and by whom; and what was the total cost to public funds of that meeting.
§ Mr. MooreThe conference held in Eastbourne on 20 January was arranged last year by my officials and the Inter-Regional Secretariat so that Health Ministers could discuss a wide range of official business with the fourteen RHA chairmen and other NHS representatives. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Health, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security and I attended the meeting along with Sir Roy Griffiths in his capacity as deputy chairman of the NHS Management Board. Thirty-two of the 35 people attending the conference stayed overnight in Eastbourne on 19 January. The total cost of the conference is estimated to be about £4,000.