§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what assistance is provided to parents of severely disabled children to obtain documents and statements from doctors and other medical staff relating to vaccinations received under the National Health Service; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. VaughanIn connection with claims under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act, the Department's vaccine damage payments unit, on request from claimants, seeks all relevant medical
446Wcleared as swiftly as possible, it is even more important that a fair hearing is given in each case.
Tribunals are now meeting at seven centres; the question of establishing a further centre is under consideration. The table below provides information about the number of cases and frequency of sitting for each tribunal. It is not possible to estimate when all the present reviews will have been decided.
documents. I am not aware of any difficulty about obtaining records which are in existence. But in dealing with claims relating to events long ago—sometimes as much as 32 years—it is inevitable that in some instances certain records are no longer in existence.