§ Mr. Gryllsasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many toxicologists his Department employs now; and how many were recruited in 1975, 1976, 1977 and up to 30th June 1978.
§ Mr. John Grant, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19th July 1978], gave the following information:
No toxicologists are employed permanently either by the Department of Employment or by the Health and Safety Executive, neither were any recruited for permanent employment in the years 1975, 1976, 1977 or up to the present date in 1978.
During the formative stage of the Health and Safety Commission's proposed scheme for the notification of the toxic properties of substances, however, considerable use was made of the services of a consultant toxicologist on a contract basis from 20th April 1976 to 7th April 1978.