§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will make a statement on his visit in November 1984 to the Petö institute for the teaching and training of the physically disabled in Budapest;
(2) if he has any proposals to provide resources for the development of facilities for the teaching and training of the physically disabled similar to those in existence in Hungary;
(3) whether he proposes any initiatives to further cooperatives between the Petö institute for the teaching and training of the physically disabled in Budapest and rehabilitation units in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeOn my visit to the Petö educational and training institute for children with motor disorders in Budapest I was very impressed by the training programmes being undertaken to help motor and neurologically impaired children. I am glad to say that there is developing interest in the Petö method of conductive education in this country and I understand that similar training programmes are now being undertaken in several centres here. It is too early to make proposals about allocation of resources but in any case this will eventually be for health and local education authorities to determine in the light of other priorities. I have no doubt that professional staff engaged in this field in this country will continue to keep in close touch with developments at the Petö institute and elsewhere with a view to developing better methods of helping handicapped people.