To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the composition of the Scottish Hospital Advisory Service, indicating in the case of each member their specific medical specialty.

Dr. A. W. Drummond, director, consultant psychiatrist; Mr. Ross Mitchell, administrator; Dr. Desmond Cormack, nurse; and Mr. J. Wood, social work, part time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list those occasions since 1979 when, in advance of seeking approval for the closure of a local hospital, the health board has preceded the application by entering into a commercial contract with the private sector aimed at substituting the NHS care so provided; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not held centrally. Arrangements made by health boards prior to submitting an application for closure of an NHS facility are for the boards themselves to determine. But decisions on hospital closures are for Ministers; health boards should not, therefore, enter into permanent arrangements which would pre-empt ministerial decisions.