§ Mr. Fittasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if any items included in personal aids provided by area boards for handicapped people in the statistics sent by him to the hon. Member for Belfast, West are, in England and Wales, provided not by a local authority social services department but by the area health authority or DHSS appliance centre.
§ Mr. CarterThe personal aids included in the statistics referred to by the hon. Member were issued by the social services departments of the Health and Social Services Boards. Some of these items—those used in connection with nursing care—are also issued by the community nursing services of the Boards, but these are not included in the statistics referred to by the hon. Member, nor are these supplied by the Artificial Limb and Appliance Centre in Northern Ireland.
Questions about the supply of items in England are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services.