asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the list of trades qualifying under the deafness disability pension scheme was last revised.

The prescription of occupational deafness as a compensatable disease for industrial injuries purposes was first made with effect from February 1975. My right hon. Friend has since asked the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council to review the operation of these provisions and to identify the processes where noise levels are nearest in severity to those already covered, with a view to extending categories as and when financial and other resources become available.