§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his policy regarding the attendance of National Health Service employees at Select Committees; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanThe Department's policy on the attendance of National Health Service employees before Select Committees is that this should happen whenever it seems likely to be of material assistance to a Committee's inquiry. To date, National Health Service employees have172W appeared on a number of occasions before the Public Accounts Committee and the Social Services Committee, either at the request of the Committee concerned or, with the agreement of the Committee, to join witnesses from the Department of Health. We believe that they have made a useful contribution to the work of those Committees.