To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the Government have taken up the quality-adjusted life years system in regard to hospital treatment of patients; and if he will make a statement.

The QALY (quality adjusted life year) is a qualitative measure of health which is being developed experimentally in various centres, mainly for evaluating new medical techniques. No consensus has yet emerged on its general use in making decisions about the treatment of patients. Any use made by the Department of QALYs would have been only as one among a variety of factors to be taken into account.