§ Mr. R. Gibsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether there is any reason, other than the inadequacy of the 10S. per week old age pension in conjunction with the rise in prices of necessaries, involving acute mental distress among old age pensioners and resulting in mental illness, to explain the fact that the admissions to mental institutions in Scotland of persons over 70 years of age 1870W have risen from 256 in 1934 to 306 in 1935, and to 345 in 1936, whereas in all the lower-age groups there is a decrease and not an increase in the number of such admissions during the years mentioned?
§ Mr. ElliotAs stated in the reply given to the hon. and learned Member's question on the 8th instant, I am not aware of any connection between the rate of old age pensions and the number of persions admitted to mental institutions. The figures quoted cover only three years, and do not seem to justify the inference that there is a general tendency for admissions of persons over 70 to increase.