§ Mr. SumbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many former mental institutions have been disposed of by his Department as surplus assets, how many have been retained by his Department for other use; and of those sold off, what proportion of the income has been retained by the originating district health authorities.
§ Mrs. CurrieThe information requested is not routinely collected and to collect it by means of a special exercise would involve disproportionate cost. I would however refer my hon. Friend to my reply to a question from the hon. Member for Bradford, South (Mr. Cryer) on 16 February at column564. That information was the result of a special exercise.
Our policy is that all proceeds should be retained by the health service for reinvestment in the service with a significant proportion being passed to the district health authority which initiated the sale. Proceeds from the sale of former mental institutions are required to be used for the development of services for the mentally ill or mentally handicapped.