§ Mr. Shersbyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Reportthe names of all those authorities which have now decided to fluoridate the public water supply; and what percentage of the country's water supply is now fluoridated by artificial means.
§ Mr. Moyle:All 90 English area health authorities have decided in favour of fluoridation except Barnsley, East Sussex, North Tyneside, Isle of Wight and Win-al. Implementation, however, depends on the co-operation of the water authorities. About 9 per cent. of the population of England at present receives fluoridated water.
§ Mr. Beithasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what expenditure he proposes to allocate by way of grant for the fluoridation of public water supplies in the Alnwick and Berwick-upon-Tweed districts; and what steps he has taken to ascertain the views of the elected local authorities of the two areas, including the Alnwick District Council and the Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council.
§ Mr. Moyle:I welcome the Northumberland Area Health Authority's decision to extend fluoridation of water supplies to that part of its area which includes Alnwick and Berwick-upon-Tweed. Local consultations are a matter for the area 282W health authority, but I understand that the authority has included this proposal in its operational plans which it has discussed through the established procedure with local authorities in its area. My Department has agreed to contribute some £50,000 to the capital cost of the entire project from the funds which, as announced in the consultative document "Priorities for Health and Personal Social Services in England ", have been earmarked for this purpose.