asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average period of time women now have to wait for breast cancer operations; and if she will make a statement.

This information is not collected in the precise form requested. However, my hon. Friend will be interested to know that the median waiting time for admission to hospital for patients with malignant neoplasms of the breast was 1·7 weeks, and for mastectomy operations 1·9 weeks, in 1972, the latest year for which figures are available.