§ 12. Mr. David Clarkasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consultations he has had with the Registrar General about using information derived from the 1971 Census to approach ex-nurses.
§ Sir K. JosephThe recent survey of ex-nurses carried out within the office of the Registrar General had my full authority.
§ Mr. ClarkI thank the Minister for that reply. While every reasonable hon. Member accepts that there is need to attract more nurses into the profession by increased salaries, better conditions and so on, is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the deep concern in certain quarters that the anonymous nature of the Census may be threatened if used for a particular investigation, and will he bear this concern very much in mind?
§ Sir K. JosephYes, Sir. I am very conscious of the danger of giving any justification for such a very wrong fear. This survey was carried out by officials within the Census organisation. It was completely anonymous and only aggregated statistics were given as results.