asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what emergency procedures he plans to adopt to enable hospital admissions and operations to take place without hindrance in the event of extreme cold weather conditions.

It is the responsibility of health authorities to manage and supervise hospital and specialist surgical services to meet local need. Arrangements for admissions to NHS hospitals for both medical and surgical procedures are planned to take into account circumstances which would significantly affect demand. We would expect extremes of weather conditions, epidemics, major accidents and natural disasters to be amongst the factors taken into account.