§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how, pursuant to his answer of 18 December,Official Report, column 925, whole-time equivalents are calculated with respect to consultant staff; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NewtonThe whole-time contract for a consultant holding one or more appointments with one or more employing authorities equals 11 notional half days or 38.5 hours and is counted as one whole-time equivalent. In the case of multiple appointments with different employing authorities, only time contracted with the authority concerned will be shown.
Consultants known to hold "maximum part-time" contracts are counted as full-time staff (ie 11 notional half days) to reflect their substantially whole-time commitment.
For part-time and honorary consultants the whole-time equivalent is calculated by dividing the total number of notional half days contracted for by 11.