asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many local authorities in Scotland provide maternity hospitals in their area; and how many free beds are available in these hospitals?

Forty-two of the 55 Scottish local authorities with power to provide maternity beds have done so either in special maternity hospitals, of which there are 22 with 555 beds, or in general hospitals, where there are 400 maternity beds. There are also in Scotland 700 maternity beds in voluntary hospitals, and 300 beds in 10 maternity hospitals provided by the Government for evacuated expectant mothers, but which in practice are also used for other patients. There is, therefore, a total provision of nearly 2,000 maternity beds in the coun- try. Local authorities do not specifically allocate beds as free beds; they charge according to the patients' means, and in necessitous cases no charge is made.