§ Mr. Berminghamasked the Secretary of State for Social Services which local authorities in England and Wales are known to have ceased provision of a 24-hour emergency service for social services in the last two years.
§ Mr. John PattenThe information is not routinely collected by central Government. However, a recent ad hoc inquiry in England and Wales showed that the following authorities did not have formal arrangements for such a service in November 1983:
- Kent County Council
- Wirral Metropolitan District
- Barnsley Metropolitan District
- Gateshead Metropolitan District
- Rotherham Metropolitan District
- Kingston London Borough
- Richmond London Borough
- Bexley London Borough
Some of these authorities have informal arrangements to deal with social work emergencies.