asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will initiate urgent talks to ensure that the £750,000 proposed to be spent on providing mattresses upholstered with the latest generation of polyurethane foam shall be stopped and instructions given to purchase the new safer polyurethane foam developed by the Department of the Environment.

The new polyurethane foam which my hon. Friend mentions is still in the laboratory production stage and is not yet commercially available. As soon as a fire retardent foam has been proved suitable for patient care every encouragement will be given to its use in the National Health Service.