asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the actual maximum single payment made to meet the costs of a newborn baby in 1983; and what was the actual minimum payment made.

Reliable figures cannot be given, since the annual statistical inquiry is based on a sample of cases and information about the individual maximum and minimum payments is unlikely to be representative.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if single payments for help with bus and rail fares for hospital visits are to be abolished under the proposals of the social security review.

I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 2·98 of volume 2 of the Green Paper "Reform of Social Security".