HC Deb 05 February 1979 vol 962 cc59-60W
Mr. Mudd

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that facilities for services for the mentally ill and mentally handicapped in Cornwall compare favourably with those in other parts of the area administered by the South-Western regional health authority; and if he will list those aspects of facilities and services that he regards as being up to the general standards of the region.

Mr. Moyle

I am advised that in terms of health service provision, facilities for all mentally ill people and for adolescent and mentally handicapped children in Cornwall compare favourably with those in other parts of the area administered by the South-Western regional health authority. There are no facilities for mentally handicapped adult in-patients in Cornwall; for historic reasons, services for these patients have been provided in Devon. However, the regional strategic plan includes proposals that facilities for services in Cornwall for the mentally handicapped should be extended to include adult patients before the end of the period to 1986. Facilities and services for those health services available in Cornwall are up to the general standards of services in the region.

Personal social services for the mentally ill and mentally handicapped are the responsibility of the Cornwall county council and, on my visit to Cornwall in December 1977, I urged the need for development of the services.