asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the average length of time a patient waits for a hernia operation in the Walsall area health authority and in England and Wales as a whole;(2) what is the average length of time a patient waits for a gall bladder operation in the Walsall area health authority and in England and Wales as a whole.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 25 January 1979; Vol. 961, c. 245], gave the following information:At 31 December 1976, the latest date for which comparative figures are available, the mean waiting times in weeks for hernia and gall bladder operations in Walsall and England as a whole were: