asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average cost of a modern general hospital.

The average total cost of a 300-bed first phase nucleus hospital is £16£5 million. The first 12 nucleus hospitals completed have shown an average saving on the capital costs of a conventional design of £1£27 million or 10£8 per cent. In other words, the lower costs of these 12 nucleus hospitals enabled one more hospital to be built than would have been possible for the same total expenditure using conventional designs.