§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will instruct all new area health boards to institute immediately joint consultative committees with all employees through their appropriate organisations, who will come under their jurisdiction in 1974.
§ Sir K. JosephA current agreement of the General Whitley Council recommends the establishment of joint consultative committees of management and staff of hospitals and other National Health Service organisations and provides a model constitution for these committees. It is the intention that the agreement should continue to apply in the future to the new health authorities; but the general council is at present considering what improvements might be made to make the agreement more effective.
§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what arrangements he has made for the direct representation on the new area health boards of employees in the new service.
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§ Sir K. JosephNone. The suggestion that the new health authorities should contain direct representatives of staff was considered during the passage of the National Health Service Reorganisation Bill and rejected. There are other and more appropriate ways of giving staff of the service an effective voice in its operation and planning.