NHS managers are remaining tight-lipped over who is deciding the future of Banbury's Horton Hospital.

New, updated proposals on the Horton's services will be announced in July - but the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust is refusing to release the names of the working parties drawing up the plans, despite a Freedom of Information request for their publication.

Banbury MP Tony Baldry demanded the names in March under the Freedom of Information procedure, after a request from the Save the Horton action group had been refused.

The MP's latest demand comes after he asked questions in the House of Commons, and was told by Leader of the House Jack Straw that there was no good reason for the trust to withhold the names.

Mr Baldry said: "Public services are for the public and individuals reconfiguring those services must be known in public."

The July date for the publication of the updated proposals was revealed on Monday by Helen Peggs, spokeswoman for the ORH Trust.

They should have been ready last month, after the trust decided in October 2006 to look again at plans to reduce maternity, obstetric, and children's services at the Horton, including closing of the special care baby unit.

On the non-disclosure of names, Ms Peggs said: "When the clinical working groups were set up, it was agreed that they could carry out their work in confidence and without their names being put into the public domain.

"The groups are intended to be representative of different interests including Banbury GPs, the primary care trust, doctors, nurses, midwives, and other clinicians from relevant specialties from both Oxford and Banbury.

"The issues under discussion are extremely sensitive, and it was felt that the individuals concerned should be able to consider the future of the out-of-hours paediatric and obstetric services, and the special care baby unit, on a basis of confidentiality.

The agreement is that names and job roles will be published (if individuals give permission) when the working groups have finished their considerations.

This report will be published, and discussed in public in July."