§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects all the London ambulance service employees to be paid by the regional health authority on a basis acceptable to them and in accordance with their contracts.
§ Mr. DeakinsI understand from inquiries made by my officials of the South-West Thames Regional Health Authority that weekly-paid London Ambulance Service employees are currently paid by the 43W RHA within the terms and conditions of service by using the Greater London Council computer and it is intended to continue with this until April 1979 after which this payroll will be transferred to the RHA computer at Springfield Hospital.
Ambulancemen are normally paid weekly; their conditions of service provide that they may be paid monthly at their own request. Certain London Ambulance Service ambulancemen are currently paid on this basis and will be so paid from April 1978 using the RHA computer at Springfield Hospital provided that additional staff can be recruited and trained for those manual processes which cannot be undertaken by the computer through the National Health Service standard payroll system.
These arrangements are the subject of continuing discussion with staff interests.