asked the Minister of Health if he has received reports from all regional hospital boards on the review of pay beds requested in Circular, H.M.(66)26; and how many beds are proposed for transfer from section 5 arrangements.

No. Sir; those received are being considered, but I have as yet taken no decisions on them.

Whilst it is only 20 days since my right hon. Friend called for these reports, will he exert pressure to get either an interim result or a report by the Summer Recess?

I have sent a reminder to all boards which have not yet sent their reports.

Why does the Minister encourage the view expressed by his back benchers that it is almost a crime to have these pay beds? Has he not given away enough in free prescriptions already?

The only stricture that I thought was implicit in my hon. Friend's supplementary question was the delay in submitting reports by the time they had been asked for.

Does the Minister recognise that an increasing number of people of modest incomes are insuring themselves for hospital treatment? Will he give an assurance that he has no intention of penalising these people in our hospitals?

I should like to await the information for which I have asked the regional boards before making any further policy statement on this matter.

asked the Minister of Health if he will conduct all future negotiations concerning hospital doctors of all grades with the Central Consultants and Specialists Committee of the British Medical Association instead of with the Joint Consultants Committee.

No, Sir. The Joint Consultants Committee and the Staff Side of Committee B of the Medical and (Hospital) Dental Whitley Council represent the profession in negotiations on behalf of hospital doctors and I have no grounds for believing that a change is desired.

Would my right hon. Friend look at that again, in view of the recent discontent of the junior hospital doctors with the Report of the Joint Consultants Committee, in order that we might get more adequate representation of the hospital side?

As my hon. Friend knows, it is for the profession and not for me to decide who should represent it in negotiations. In the current negotiations on implementing the Review Body's recommendations, the Joint Committee's representatives have included a representative of the junior staff.