asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the 1,000 pay beds to be phased out under Section 3 of the Health Services Act will not be made available as beds for NHS patients.

When health authorities were asked to submit proposals for effecting the reductions in pay bed authorisations required by Schedule 2 to the Health Services Act 1976 their attention was drawn to the requirement that the beds released as a result of the initial reduction should so far as practicable be made available for the use of NHS patients. Pay beds are not necessarily particular, identified beds; admission of paying patients may take place to any bed up to the total authorised "pay beds" for a hospital. I am still considering authorities' proposals, some of which are still awaited. However, none of the replies so far received suggests that authorities envisage any difficulty in meeting the requirement.