Brighton is well placed to become a theatrical hub for the South East, according to Culture Secretary Chris Smith.

He spoke exclusively to our reporter during a tour of Brighton's Theatre Royal this morning.

He took time out from the Labour Party conference to visit the building, which is in the midst of a £1 million refurbishment, with Howard Panter, managing director, and Rosemary Squire, executive director of the Ambassador Theatre Group, which owns the New Road venue.

He said: "How could you spend a week in Brighton without coming to have a look at this rather magnificent Victorian theatre?

"Brighton is very well placed, with a large, growing and interesting population and the theatre has the chance to act as a hub for good theatrical work across the South East of the country in the years to come.

"I wanted to hear quite a lot about the refurbishment work being done here, the plans they have and the difficulties they may face."

Mr Smith said little about the possibility of Arts Council funding for the Theatre Royal but did speak about the Government's investment in regional theatre in general.

He said: "In terms of funding for regional theatre we have committed a substantial amount of funding over the next two years for it, although the detail is still being thrashed out by the Arts Council.

"We have secured £25 million that the Arts Council need for their Theatre Review as part of our £100 million extra to the arts in the Spending Review 2000."

Mr Panter said: "We wanted to show Mr Smith the synergy between a company producing plays and building theatres. Here in Brighton we are trying to recreate the theatre as the premier starting point for regional tours and productions that go up to London. Brighton used to hold this position and in the last year has started to again."

Meanwhile, health minister John Denham listened to concerns of NHS staff on a visit to a hospital for people with mental health problems.

He was told morale was being hit by poor pay and understaffing during a private meeting at Mill View Hospital in Nevill Avenue, Hove.

Frances Hasley, a staff nurse at the neighbouring Nevill Hospital, spoke to Mr Denham about wages.

She said: "It is very unjust that I should earn several thousand pounds less than a nurse two grades my junior just because I work at night."

Mr Denham said: "Wages and conditions of all NHS staff is something that the Government is addressing.

"We have said that we will look at regional differences in wage structures and try to redress the balance with measures such as accommodation allowances in the future."

Melissa Gunasena, a patient at the hospital, said: "He seems a really nice bloke. He didn't mind when I just went up and spoke to him.

"The staff here are excellent and can't do enough for us. They deserve to be paid more."