Redundancies and restructuring have cost the NHS more than £70 million over the last two years, MPs have discovered.

The costs, about the same as refurbishing a big hospital, were revealed by the Commons health select committee. They were due to closing regional offices, replacing the community health councils and reducing the number of health authorities.

Committee chairman David Hinchliffe said there had been 18 restructures in 20 years which had each generated huge costs.