§ Mr. Whitlockasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his current policy with regard to the provision of training centres for the mentally handicapped; and what guidance in this respect his Department has issued to the Nottinghamshire County Council.
§ Mr. MoyleThere is need for a continued increase nationally in the numbers of places available in adult training centres for the mentally handicapped, as set out in the White Paper "Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped" and subsequent guidance. The rate at which any individual local authority is
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Infant mortality: deaths under 1 year of age per 1,000 live births Perinatal mortality: still births and deaths under 1 week of age per 1,000 total births England 13.5 16.8 Regional Health Authorities— Northern 14 19 Yorkshire 15 18 Trent 14 16 East Anglian 11 13 North West Thames 13 15 North East Thames 15 16 South East Thames 13 17 South West Thames 11 14 Wessex 12 15 Oxford 12 15 Southwestern 13 16 West Midland 15 19 Mersey 15 19 North Western 14 18 able to progress towards the desired level of provision for the population it serves is dependent on many local factors, including other local priorities and the scale and quality of existing services. Specific departmental guidance to individual authorities would not be appropriate, but my Department's social work service keeps in close touch with local authority social services departments.