§ Mr. Ron Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will reconsider the decision to withhold public funds from the Mathew Trust to enable the trust to set up a committee with his Department and the churches to discuss the possible use of exorcism for patients in special hospitals; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeWe have received no request for funding on these specific terms. But if such a request were received it would be rejected. There are staff, programmes and facilities in the special hospitals to meet the clinical and spiritual needs of the patients. Decisions on appropriate forms of treatment are the professional responsibility of the doctor in whose care an individual patient has been placed, in consultation with the members of other professions who contribute to the treatment and care of patients in the special hospitals.