To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average number of beds available within the South Manchester health authority area in 1980, 1985 and 1990; what is the current actual position; and what are the comparable figures for England as a whole.

The information requested is given in the table.

Number of average daily available beds
	1980	1985	1989–90
South Manchester DHA	2,423	2,277	1,927
England	355,979	325,487	270,334

Number of patients treated
	Finished hospital stays (discharge and deaths)		Finished consultant episodes
	1980	1985	1989–901
South Manchester DHA	61,745	69,361	76,259
England	5,670,001	6,353,812	7,476,626
1 Figures for 1989–90 refer to Finished Consultant Episodes and should not be directly compared with earlier figures (discharges and deaths).

More recent information on beds and patients treated is not held centrally. The hon. Member may wish to write to Mr. P. Hadfield, the chairman of South Manchester health authority, for details.