§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the general response of area health authorities to the White Paper on perinatal and neonatal mortality.
§ Dr. VaughanThere has been no response from health authorities since the publication of the Government's reply and the issue of Health Circular (80)13 last month, but I am sure that the authorities will be making arrangements to study carefully the many important recommendations in the Social Services Committee's report which concern them. They will then be able to consider giving priority to the most urgent recommendations as part of a campaign to improve services in their area.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list the organisations and individuals which have made representation regarding the Government's response to the Social Services Committee's report on perinatal and neonatal mortality and the number critical of the Government response;
(2) if he will reconsider his response to the Social Services Committee's report on perinatal and neonatal mortality, in view of the criticism from interested organisations.
§ Dr. VaughanThree organisations have made critical representations, but two of these are also interested in working with the Department, offering constructive suggestions arising from the Government's reply which my right hon. Friend will be very ready to consider. Three representations have been received from individuals. Two disagreed with the Government's decision on the provision of funds. The other supported the note of caution which the Government had sounded over the Social Services Committee's estimates of the number of avoidable perinatal deaths and handicaps.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will reconsider the reply made on behalf of Her Majesty's Government to the Social Services Committee's report on perinatal mortality in the light of the full evidence given to the Select Committee by Dr. Peter Dunn; if he will reexamine the interpretation of the quotation made in that reply from the evidence of Dr. Dunn to ensure that it accurately represents his views in the context of the full evidence given by him and if he will consider publishing a supplementary reply.
§ Dr. VaughanThe Government's conclusion that the Social Services Committee's report was liable to encourage unrealistic expectations of the number of avoidable deaths and serious handicaps was based not on Dr. Dunn's evidence but on the grounds set forth in paragraphs 17–22 of Cmnd. 8084, to which I have nothing to add. The quotation referred to by the hon. Member was not intended as a resume of Dr. Dunn's evidence as a whole but did seem to express, in a concise and intelligible way, the difficult concept of "preventability" to which the Government wished to draw attention.