§ Dr. Vaughanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will consider increasing the sum which a mentally handicapped young person or adult can earn at an adult training centre for the mentally handicapped, so that those who produce the same output as other workers may receive a normal wage.
§ Mr. AlisonDepartmental advice to local authorities is that normally trainees in adult training centres should receive payments no less than what would be given in open employment for the work done. It is known however, that payments are not generally made beyond280W aim is to choose people with a wide range of relevant experience and interest and with geographical associations with the area.
§ Miss Quennellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons are currently on the waiting list for admission to hospitals serving the Peters-field constituency; and what categories of illness were involved.
§ Mr. AlisonHospital statistics cannot be related directly to constituency boundaries and patients from the Peters-field constituency are referred to hospitals of both the Portsmouth Group and North Hampshire Group Hospital Management Committees. Thus patients living in the Petersfield constituency may be treated at hospitals outside and people awaiting admission to hospitals within the constituency may live outside.
The waiting lists at 31st July, 1972, for the hospitals within the Petersfield area were:
£2, that is the level of part-time earnings disregarded for supplementary benefit purposes, and that some authorities are unable to operate a satisfactory progressive system of payments because some trainees are regularly working at an earning level of above £2. Authorities are of course encouraged to make every endeavour to place suitable trainees in open or sheltered employment.
As for the level of the supplementary benefit disregard I would refer my hon. Friend to my hon. Friend's reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Truro (Mr. Dixon) on 13th June.—[Vol. 838, c 1235–6.]