asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to make private children's homes open to inspection by the local authority within whose area they are situated irrespective of whether such a local authority has placed children in the home in question.

I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave on 8 February to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Short).—[Vol. 978, c. 390–1.]