asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what amount of money is being spent in the identifying and dealing with the problem of the mentally handicapped.

In 1976ߝ77 about £260 million was spent on health and personal social services for the mentally handicapped in England. In addition, identifying and helping mentally handicapped people and their families involves a wide range of other servicesߞfor example, general medical services, social workߞbut the proportion of expenditure on these services that is attributable to the mentally handicapped cannot be quantified.