asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what effects Her Majesty's Government's public expenditure policy will have upon the Stoke Mandeville hospital; and if he will make a statement.

General hospital services at Stoke Mandeville are the concern of the Buckinghamshire area health authority, and it is for the authority to ensure that its estimated expenditure remains within cash limits during the current financial year.The hospital's spinal injury centre, however, provides a supra-regional service; and it is therefore for the health authorities and the Department together to consider any proposals to vary the level of service within the centre.The authorities are having urgent talks this month and I am visiting Stoke Mandeville hospital on 20 November. No decision affecting the national spinal injuries centre will be made prior to that date.