asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will give by health authority district within the West Midlands regional health authority the number of beds in 1978 and 1987;(2) if he will list the number of patients given treatment annually since 1978 in each health authority district within the West Midlands regional health authority.

I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list by health authority district within the West Midlands regional health authority those proposing reductions in non-emergency general medical and general surgical facilities;(2) what has been the growth in capital allocations for each health authority district in the West Midlands regional health authority since 1978.

This information is not held centrally. My hon. Friend may therefore wish to write to the chairman of the West Midlands regional health authority who may be able to help him.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what he estimates to be the impact upon medical services in Shropshire if the proposal to close six wards at the Royal Shrewsbury hospital is implemented; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will list the district health authority areas within the West Midlands regional health authority in which the general surgical waiting list is expected by the relevant health authority to double over the next three years.

As my hon. Friend is aware, Shropshire health authority is considering a number of options to enable it to stay broadly within its cash limits, taking account of the important service developments due to take place in the county during the next few years. In reaching a decision about its spending, Shropshire health authority will, I am sure, consider carefully the impact on services including waiting lists. It is currently discussing with the West Midlands regional health authority how it can best deploy its share of the waiting list fund announced by my right hon. Friend in November 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will state the waiting lists in each health authority district within the West Midlands regional health authority;(2) if he will list by health authority district within the West Midlands regional health authority the current waiting lists for treatment.

For the latest centrally available information I refer my hon. Friend to hospital in-patient waiting list, England at 30 September 1986, national, regional and district summaries, copies of which have been placed in the Library. For current figures he may wish to write to the chairman of the West Midlands regional health authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the annual expenditure of the West Midlands regional health authority since 1978.

Following are the total expenditure figures recorded in the annual financial accounts of the West Midlands regional health authority and those of district health authorities (area health authorities prior to 1982–83) within that region:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list the members of the Shropshire health authority, the date of their appointment and projected termination date;(2) if he will list the members of the West Midlands regional health authority, the date of their appointment and projected termination date.

I regret that information about members of Shropshire health authority is not held centrally. They are appointed by West Midlands regional health authority and the appropriate local authorities. The hon. Member may therefore wish to seek this information from the chairman of West Midlands regional health authority. The information requested about members of the regional health authority is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will state the additional resources allocated to the West Midlands regional health authority for reduction of waiting lists; what steps he has taken to monitor its equitable distribution to the district health authorities within the region; and if he will make a statement.

West Midlands regional health authority is to receive £2·88 million from the first year's allocation of the waiting list fund. Full details of the projects to be supported in all regions have been placed in the Library. The projects supported were submitted to the Department by the Region on behalf of its Districts and took account of the magnitute of the problems, the likely impact of the projects and the extent to which the districts were already making effective use of existing resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the growth in population to date, and projected population growth, for each health authority district within the West Midlands regional health authority.

The mid-year population estimates for 1981 and 1985 and the change between those years for each of the district health authorities within West Midlands regional health authority are shown in table 1. These data were published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in its Monitor reference PP 186/2, a copy of which is available in the Library. The projected population change between 1985 and 1995 is shown in Table 2. The projections for 1995 were prepared by OPCS from a 1981 base and the data can only represent a view of the most likely way forward at the time of preparation.