asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to decrease the incidence of gonorrhoea, which increased by 49 per cent. in England during the five years leading to 1970.

The steps most likely to succeeded in combating the unwelcome rise in the incidence of gonorrhoea (also occurring in other countries) are health education, early diagnosis and treatment, contact tracing and research and we are encouraging efforts in all these directions at the present time.