§ Mr. Juddasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT details of the scale of venereal disease in England and Wales for each of the past five years and comparative figures for each of the 20 largest cities in England and Wales; and whether he will make a statement on the Government's policy towards the problem.
§ Mr. SnowFigures for the 20 largest cities are not available, but the Chief Medical Officers' Annual Report includes in Appendix C figures of the number of cases seen at clinics in England and Wales from 1950 onwards, and in Chapter IIB figures for 1966 and 1967 of early syphilitic infections in ten sample urban areas.
The Government take the problem of venereal disease very seriously, and steps are currently being taken to improve the tracing of contacts, which I consider is the most effective way of controlling these diseases. There is also a need to increase public awareness about these infections, and I am sure the newly formed Health Education Council will play an important part in this.