§ Mr. MaplesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his White Paper on the NHS if he will make a statement describing the proposed role of local authorities in the NHS structure. [29062]
§ Mr. MilburnLocal authorities are indispensable partners to the National Health Service in the tasks of improving health and delivering high quality services. The White Paper "The New NHS" sets out how health authorities and local authorities will be expected to work together.