asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many patients have received hospital treatment in the latest 12-month period for which figures are available and how this compares with the previous 12-month period; and how many patients are on hospital waiting lists at the latest date for which a figure is available.

For the year ending 31st December 1977, in England, the provisional total of hospital in-patients treated —deaths and discharges—is up by 72,000 on the previous year to a new record figure of 5,327,000. The provisional number of new out-patient attendances in 1977 was up by 98,000 to a total of 7,596,000. In spite of these increases in hospital activity the provisional number of patients on inpatient waiting lists in England was 601,000 at 31st December 1977.