§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South,Official Report, 6 July, column 245, when the details of the 1980 vaccine damage payments were destroyed; who gave the authorisation for their destruction; what are the normal arrangements for dealing with such information; and if a summary was made of the information before it was destroyed;
(2) pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South, Official Report, 6 July, column 245, if he will explain how some of the records for the 1981 and 1982 vaccine damage payments were lost; and what further steps he is taking to find them.
§ Mrs. Gillian Shephard[holding answer 25 July 1989]: I am writing to the right hon. Member about the arrangements under which the 1980 records were destroyed and about those for 1981 and 1982 which are missing. I am pleased to say, however, that we have been able to elicit from other sources all the information he requested. Details have been placed in the Library.