asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report the ground rules circulated within his Department to ensure adequate consultation with the local authority associations in the light of the judgment in R. v Secretary of State for Social Services ex parte in the Association of Metropolitan Authorities.

No such grounds rules have been circulated. My right hon. Friend is considering, in the light of the judgment, whether any changes in the Department's procedures for consulting the local authority associations and other organisations are necessary.