§ 17. Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will now bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the United Kingdom by transferring responsibility for providing services for educating mentally-handicapped children from the Health and Social Services Department to the Department of Education.
§ Mr. Chris PattenA working group set up by the Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Education for Northern Ireland is currently considering this issue. When it has reported my hon. Friend and I will study its recommendations before taking a decision.
§ Mr. Stephen RossDoes the Minister agree that mentally handicapped children in Northern Ireland are at a disadvantage in this respect compared with their counterparts in the United Kingdom, and that this is something that should be dealt with immediately?
§ Mr. PattenI am not sure that I agree that such children are necessarily at a disadvantage, but we hope that the working party will give us the opportunity to take a decision in the autumn. There are two views about this, as there are about many other issues.