To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his policy towards the continuance of multi-professional, multi-agency work for children with emotional difficulties, through child guidance; what proposals he has to secure the future of child guidance units in inner London; and if he will make a statement.

Our current policy is that children with emotional difficulties should be able to look for help from professional staff, including psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, who spend most of their time working in the child and adolescent fields. The organisation of these services in London after the proposed abolition of the Inner London education authority is a matter for consideration by the health and local authority services concerned.