asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the expenditure to which the Government are committed in distributing 2,000 free hearing aids a week, he will take steps, on a national scale, to educate the pulic in recognising the first symptoms of deafness and in obtaining adequate treatment, particularly in the case of young children.

The provision of hearing aids through the National Health Service and the establishment of special diagnostic clinics in about 150 hospitals in England and Wales, have in themselves stimulated public interest in deafness in all its stages. Other medical and educational facilities already exist and are widely used, but I am always willing to consider further suggestions.