asked the Minister of Health what plans he has for providing additional hospital facilities in the West Suffolk towns of Bury St. Edmunds and Haverhill in order to meet the needs of their town expansion programmes.

The needs of Bury St. Edmunds and Haverhill and their districts will be taken into account in the current review of the Hospital Plan.

Will the hon. Gentleman take it from me that the casualty department of the West Suffolk Hospital is grossly overworked and badly needs expansion, and also that, in Haverhill, there are many hundreds of young families who are deeply disturbed about the lack of maternity facilities and about accidents arising from industrial work?

In the first place, there is appreciation by the East Anglian Regional Hospital Board of some deficiencies in the West Suffolk General Hospital. Improvements are being considered: I can go no further than that. In Haverhill, it is doubtful whether the population increase will for many years justify a viable maternity unit in that area.