§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that local authorities are applying the provisions of Sections 1 and 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 to the mentally handicapped and ill, where appropriate, as well as to the physically handicapped and ill; if he now intends to provide further guidance on this matter; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AlisonAdvice issued by my Department in August 1970 confirmed that persons whose handicap was a mental one were within the scope of Sections 1 and 2 of the Act and I have no reason to believe that local authorities need to be reminded of this. To some extent identification of those with a mental disability presents greater difficulty than of those with a physical handicap. Nevertheless local authorities generally are planning to develop as fast as resource constraints allow the services for mentally disordered people they are required to provide in accordance with Section 12 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968, the scope of which is wider than Section 2 of the Act of 1970.