§ Dr. McDonaldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report (a) the current basic weekly wage and (b) the current average weekly earnings of the following National Health Service ancillary staff: group 1: catering assistant and cleaner/domestic assistant, group 2: dishwasher, general labourer, laundry worker, linen room assistant, porter, trainee dry cleaning plant operator, trainee laundry machine operator and ward orderly, group 3: assistant caretaker, handyman/woman and sterilizer attendant, group 4: ambulance driver and laboratory assistant.
§ Sir George Young[pursuant to his reply, 28 November]: The current basic weekly rates of pay for full-time adult ancillary staff in pay groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 are £54.45, £55.50, £57.20 and £59.62 respectively. Information requested about current average weekly earnings of specific grades of staff is not available, but the estimated average weekly earnings of all full-time staff in the pay groups are as follows:
Pay group Men £ Women £ 1 81.41 73.75 2 88.90 74.41 3 94.67 79.15 4 92.33 78.34