§ Mr. Batisteasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total scrap value of used X-ray plates held by the National Health Service; if he will study the feasibility of storing such records on microfilm; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenRoughly 500 million used X-ray films are held in the National Health Service with a total scrap value of about £25 million. Microfilming has replaced storage of large films in some hospitals but the Department continues to have reservations about the standard of reproduction obtainable by the use of this technique under service conditions. We are keeping the position under review.