§ Mr. Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in view of his encouragement to consultants in Scotland to carry out more private health work, he will take immediate steps to stop the practice of merit award payments.
§ Mr. John MacKayNo.
§ Mr. Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report the names of the committee members who are responsible for the award of merit awards to consultants in the National Health Service in Scotland.
§ Mr. John MacKayThe Scottish members of the advisory committee on distinction and meritorious service awards who together form the Scottish sub-committee are currently as follows:
- Dr. G. B. Shaw.
- Professor A. P. M. Forrest.
- Dr. R. F. Robertson.
§ Mr. Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total amount of money now being paid by each health board in Scotland in the form of merit awards to consultants; and how this compares with total amounts in each of the past 10 years.
§ Mr. John MacKayThe information requested is set out in the following table for the years from 1974, when health boards came into existence. Only the Scottish totals can be provided for the two preceding years.
329W
Health Board 1972–73 1973–74 7974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Dumfries and Galloway — — — 41,001 40,298 58,598 72,810 78,164 Fife 15,851 24,300 24,300 34,270 25,483 28,394 45,494 55,405 Forth Valley 31,734 42,092 37,294 36,067 37,960 51,657 82,404 88,989 Grampian 181,409 211,182 191,768 205,002 221,093 318,767 500,062 512,066 Greater Glasgow 698,744 729,212 713,688 747,588 906,163 1,192,803 1,738,209 1,793,363 Highland 61,974 79,537 68,490 78,802 77,926 116,611 172,102 172,085 Lanarkshire 27,258 36,042 39,961 44,475 57,674 75,337 130,175 125,198 Lothian 420,002 451,877 461,194 496,162 489,508 701,868 998,354 1,041,923 Tayside 231,127 244,715 251,793 261,257 253,350 356,385 553,673 565,738 Islands Boards* 11,709 20,218 4,355 2,135 2,135 2,664 3,530 8,734 Total 1,487,131 1,572,421 1,737,389 1,930,861 1,882,563 2,059,900 2,213,439 3,068,584 4,512,061 4,665,113 *In view of the small number of consultants involved the 3 islands boards have been treated as a group.
§ Mr. Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report a table indicating the number of consultants in each health board in Scotland in receipt of a merit award; what category of award they receive; and what is the amount of each award.
Health Board Category of award A+ (£20,315) A (£15,650) B (£9,365) C (£4,170) Total Argyll and Clyde — — 5 18 23 Ayrshire and Arran — — 5 21 26 Borders — — 2 4 6 Dumfries and Galloway — 1 3 14 18 Fife — — 2 11 13 Forth Valley — 2 3 12 17 Grampian 2 6 18 43 69 Greater Glasgow 8 34 88 149 279 Highland — 3 8 19 30 Lanarkshire — — 6 25 31 Lothian 6 13 45 105 169 Tayside 3 9 20 46 78 Islands Boards* — — 1 — 1 Common Services Agency — 1 1 3 5 Total 19 69 207 470 765 * In view of the small number of consultants involved the 3 islands boards have been treated as a group.