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Mr. Freeman : We have now received reports from the health and social services authorities concerned and the conclusions and verdict of the coroner, and are considering them before deciding whether any further action is warranted.

Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration is being given into the need for additional legislation following the death of Beverley Lewis ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Freeman : The Government have recently received the coroner's report as well as reports from both the health and local authorities and are examining what, if any, changes are needed to existing legislation or policy.

Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the need for a public inquiry into the death of Beverley Lewis.

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Mr. Freeman : We have received a number of letters from Members and members of the public.

Hearing Aids

Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many manufacturers of hearing aids have approval to market their hearing aids in the United Kingdom ; and what criteria governs their approval.

Mr. Freeman : No formal approval is necessary in the United Kingdom for manufacturers to market their hearing aids to their dispensers. The retailing of hearing aids to the private user is governed by the Hearing Aid Council Act which is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. The Department runs an NHS product approval scheme for hearing aids purchased on central contract by Mersey regional health authority to meet large-scale demand throughout the NHS. Currently eight models are approved under that scheme and have to meet the requirements of specifications drawn up by the Department in consultation with professional NHS staff. The detailed requirements run to several pages but the main factors are the levels of maximum gain and maximum output, and the frequency response.

A further 300 to 500 other models of hearing aid are also being marketed in this country at present.

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Agency Nurses, Clerical andAdministrative Staff

Mr. Cook : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the amount spent on (a) agency nurses and (b) agency clerical and administrative staff for the latest available year for each district health authority, special health authority and regional health authority and England as a whole.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Information derived from annual accounts submitted to the Department for 1988-89 (the latest available) is shown in the table which has been placed in the Library.

As a result of various initiatives achieved or pending such as nurse clinical grading and local pay flexibility for administrative and clerical and other staff groups the total expenditure incurred on agency staff should reduce in the future.

As shown in the table the expenditure is incurred predominately in the Thames regions which together with the special health authorities for the London postgraduate treaching hospitals accounted for some 85 per cent. and 77 per cent. of the England totals for nursing and administrative and clerical staff respectively.

Mental Incapacity

Mr. Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the Law Commission's review of mental incapacity to be complete.

The Attorney-General : I have been asked to reply. The Law Commission hopes to be able to publish a discussion paper on mentally incapacitated adults later this year.

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