To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether voluntary residential accommodation is covered by his Department's inspection and enforcement procedures. [98928]

Where accommodation is rented from a hospital on a voluntary basis and there is no contractual requirement to provide on-call duties from that accommodation, the accommodation will not be covered by the inspection requirements of HSC2000/036. It will be covered by the Houses in Multiple Occupancy Regulations and other local authority standards to ensure basic habitability.