asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will ask local authorities and hospital boards in Scotland to introduce rubber dustbins in order to alleviate the noise nuisance.

I have no reason to believed that local authorities are not aware of the possibility of using these dustbins, but it is a matter within their discretion. In a general memorandum which I have sent to hospital authorities on control of noise, their attention has been drawn to the suitability from this point of view of rubber or rubber fitted bins.