§ Mr. George Rodgersasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will publish in the Official Report figures showing the total annual sum of money allocated to National Health Service consultants in special awards for the last five years; if she will show its distribution in regional terms; and if she will indicate the average and maximum levels of such awards.
§ Dr. OwenExpenditure on distinction awards for NHS consultants and those with honorary NHS contracts is not centrally recorded. The estimated total value of these awards, excluding employers' superannuation contributions, during each of the past five calendar years in England and Wales is as follows:
£ million 1970 6.1 1971 7.0 1972 7.8 1973 8.2 1974 9.1 The approximate distribution of money in percentage terms by regional health authority in England and for Wales as a whole in 1974 was:
per cent. Northern 5 Yorkshire 5 Trent 6 East Anglia 4 Oxford 5 South Western 5 West Midlands 8 North Western 7 Mersey 4 Wessex 4 4 Thames Regions 42 Wales 5 The current maximum value of a distinction award is £10,689 per annum and the average value of all awards, including partial awards to part-time consultants, is estimated to be about £3,000 per annum.
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