§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will estimate how long it will take until all the outstanding nurses' grading appeals have been heard; and what steps she is taking to speed up the waiting times;
(2) how many nurses' grading appeals have not been heard; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. SackvilleAt 1 March 1995, there were just over 2,500 nurse grading appeals in England which were still unresolved. This is about half of the number outstanding a year ago. The Nursing and Midwifery Staffs Negotiating Council is operating an agreed appeals mechanism for clearing all outstanding appeals. The aim is for all appeals to be cleared by 31 December 1995.
§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses' grading appeals have been conducted since 1988; and how many were outstanding in each year since 1990.
§ Mr. SackvilleSince 1988, approximately 98,000 nurse clinical grading appeals have been heard. Information on the number of appeals outstanding at the end of the last three years is shown in the table. Comparable information is not available for 1990 and 1991.
Outstanding nurses and midwives clinical grading appeals (England) Year ending Number of appeals outstanding 31 December 1992 21,326 31 December 1993 4,819 31 December 1994 2,964 The aim is for all appeals to be cleared by 31 December 1995.