asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish in the Official Report the letter sent by his Department on 4 July signed by Miss V. M. Langrish, in reply to a communication from Mrs. Margaret Brady, M.Sc., requesting information on the question of the Ministry's attitude to the fluoridation of water.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the Department's letter of 14 July 1982 to Mrs. Brady, since none was written on 4 July. The reply answered at some length specific technical questions concerning fluoridation and does not therefore lend itself to publication in the Official Report. Mrs. Brady has on very many occasions in the past requested information of an equally technical nature. Given the limited resources available to the Department, our reply of 14 July pointed out that we could not undertake to answer future letters on such details.