asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will consider granting discretionary powers to social security offices in the administration of granting attendance allowance where such cases marginally fail to qualify and could, in addition, be certified by the local family doctor as such a case.

No. It would be quite inappropriate for the Department's offices to have power to grant an allowance where the responsible authority, the Attendance Allowance Board, had decided that the statutory medical conditions were not satisfied.