§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his recent letter to the hon. Member for Linlithgow, on medical services in the Forces, whether it was with his authority that a senior Admiralty officer made a statement on the condition of medical services in the Navy; and if he will make a statement. [107028]
§ Mr. SpellarI have not authorised any senior naval officer to make a statement on medical services in the Royal Navy, nor have I been asked to do so. This Government have long recognised the problems we inherited in the Defence Medical Services (DMS), the most significant of which is the shortage of manpower. We are committed to ensuring that our Armed Forces have the medical support they require and, following the Strategic Defence Review, we have made an additional £140 million available for the DMS over the four years to 2001–02 for medical equipment and personnel. In December 1998, we announced a new strategy for the DMS, covering a range of measures, a key element of which is the creation of a Centre for Defence Medicine228W (CDM). The University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust has been selected as the host Trust for the Centre which we plan to open in April 2001. As well as being the professional focus for the DMS, and providing clinical services, the CDM will be an important centre for military training and research and we believe it will encourage recruitment and retention of DMS personnel.