§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, to mark the International Year of Disabled People, he will take steps to abolish hospital waiting list; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinNo. Waiting lists cannot be "abolished". I do expect health authorities to sustain their efforts to keep both waiting lists and waiting times to a minimum. The latest available figures suggest that, in the first year of this Government, waiting lists fell by some 90,000.