To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what measures are being taken to ensure that all children who suffer from Battens disease are treated before they are three years of age;(2) how many cases of Battens disease have been recorded in each year since 1983.

Battens disease is extremely rare, and its prevalence is not precisely known. There is no known effective treatment for Battens disease. In the infantile forms, with onset before the age of three, the health care of the children is guided by the basic principles which apply to all types of progressive disorder with handicap.