§ Mr. Bruce GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had about a merger of the Walsall and Sandwell health authorities. [157334]
§ Yvette CooperThe health authorities in Walsall and Sandwell have an established history of successful joint working, and will continue to build on this. On 25 April the Secretary of State for Health announced plans for far-reaching modernisation and reform of the National 757W Health Service. The announcement included a statement that by 2004 two-thirds of existing health authorities will disappear as they merge. However the future configuration of health authorities has yet to be determined.