asked the Minister of Health (1) whether he is aware of the hardship caused by the refusal of hospital committees to accept a compromise payment where the injured person is unable to secure compensation otherwise than a payment as an act of grace; and what action he will take;

(2) whether he is aware that the Woolwich Group Hospital Management Committee have declined to make any exception to the legal position which applies when an insurance company makes a payment to the victim of a road accident who has received treatment in a National Health Service hospital, in particular in the case of Mr. Harry Kendall, R.T.A. No. 1610; and if he will direct the Woolwich Management Committee to agree to a reasonable compromise.

This is essentially a matter for the discretion of hospital authorities; but I have asked the Woolwich Group Hospital Management Committee to look into the possibility of waiving the charges under the Road Traffic Acts in this case, and I propose to inform hospital authorities generally that I should see no objection to their doing so in such cases if there are reasonable grounds.

Thank you very much.