HL Deb 26 July 1989 vol 510 cc1431-2

3.1 p.m.

Lord Auckland asked Her Majesty's Government:

What recent communication they have had with the Peto Institute for handicapped children in Hungary and what results have ensued.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Social Security (Lord Henley)

My Lords, my right honourable friend the Minister of State for Social Security and the Disabled visited the Peto Institute in September last year and my honourable friend the Minister of Education and Health at the Scottish Office also visited the institute in February this year. The Hungarian Government propose to develop an international centre at the Peto Institute in order to meet increasing overseas demand and to spread the philosophy of conductive education internationally. In December last year they put forward formal proposals for United Kingdom collaboration in the international centre. Discussions on these proposals are continuing.

Lord Auckland

My Lords, I thank my noble friend and kinsman for that very helpful Answer. I am sure that the whole House would wish to congratulate him on his ministerial elevation. Is he aware of the very moving television programme shown about six months ago on this splendid place? Arising from that, can he say what consultations there have been as a result of the ministerial visits to Budapest? Have there been reciprocal visits from Hungarian ministers and paediatricians? Will encouragement be given to paediatricians from this country to visit Hungary, and vice versa?

Lord Henley

My Lords, I thank my noble kinsman for those remarks. We hope to bring negotiations about a United Kingdom contribution to the international institute to a satisfactory conclusion in the near future. There is plenty of good will on both sides but we have only just, in the past week or so, received further information from the Hungarian Government which we shall need time to study. As regards encouraging paediatricians to visit the Hungarian institute, that is a matter for them. However, we are conducting an evaluation of what is going on at the Peto Institute through the Birmingham Foundation for Conductive Education.

Lord Molloy

My Lords, will the Minister consider the posssibility that not only the professional people involved with handicapped children should pay a visit to Hungary, but some of the very hard-working representatives of the voluntary organisations who do so much for the handicapped of this country should also be allowed to be involved?

Lord Henley

My Lords, I think I should also say that, as my noble kinsman mentioned, there was a television programme some months ago which I did not see. I gather that there was also a radio programme this morning. Again, I am afraid that I was unable to listen to it because I was rather busy being briefed on this Question and other matters. Increasing numbers of people, whether professionals or those involved in the voluntary sector, are aware of what goes on. I hope that they will visit the Peto Institute and discover what it is doing.

Lord Ennals

My Lords, may I associate myself and my noble friends with the congratulations to the noble Lord on his appointment? It is good to find that last night, having thanked him for all that he had done for health, I now find him still speaking for health today, even though on behalf of another department.

In connection with the Question, is he aware that the hopes of many hundreds of families are very much pinned on the Peto Institute? They will wish to have the statement and assurance which have been promised by the Minister. Can he say roughly when he expects to be able to make a statement and indicate whether there are things which we in Britain can learn from what has been done at the institute?

Lord Henley

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his remarks. I should say that I am not speaking here on health matters, which is something for my new department, the Department of Social Security. If the noble Lord has listened to me, he will remember that in my first Answer I said, "The Minister of State for Social Security and the Disabled", which comes under the Department of Social Security.

We accept that conductive education needs to be evaluated, and I explained this to my noble kinsman Lord Auckland. We shall not receive the results of that evaluation until 1992. Nevertheless, once we have sorted out various other matters we hope to be able to go ahead with some collaboration with the Peto Institute before 1992.