§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he can report on steps to implement the recommendations of the Speaker's Conference, 25th October 1973, that patients in mental hospitals should be placed on the same footing as mental patients in general hospitals; and when amending legislation to the Representation of the People Act 1949 (Section 4(3)) is expected.
§ Mr. JohnAs I said in the reply that I gave to a Question by my hon. Friend, the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Mr. Flannery) on 20th May [Vol. 911, c. 1695–6]—the Government have now accepted this recommendation in principle, subject to the satisfactory resolution of certain practical problems. The interdepartmental working party set up on the recommendation of the Speaker's Conference is about to undertake consultations on these problems. It is not possible to say when amending legislation may be introduced.