§ 2. Mr. Croninasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what further consideration he has given to the problem of babies and small children who receive 1054 serious injuries as the result of assaults by their parents, in view of the frequency of these cases.
§ Mr. AlisonFurther action will depend on the results of the examination of the reports which local authorities were requested to make by 1st October on the steps they have taken to deal with the problem.
§ Mr. CroninWill the Under-Secretary bear in mind that the N.S.P.C.C. alone receives notification of 35 to 40 new cases a month, a fourfold increase, and that doctors are not co-operating as well as they should? Therefore, will the Minister intensify steps to secure the increased co-operation of the medical profession and also talk to the Home Secretary and avoid ill-advised police action, as this is primarily a medical and sociological problem?
§ Mr. AlisonI agree with the specific point made in the last part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question. My Department has taken all possible steps to stimulate consultation and the involvement of local medical and other professions and, indeed, the police, where necessary, in the areas on the ground where this problem primarily arises. We shall do everything we can to assist in the diminution of this terrible phenomenon.