§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations he has received from(a) individual community health councils, (b) the Association of Community Health Councils in England and Wales and (c)other organisations in respect of his Department's proposed regrading procedure of community health council chief officers; and if he will make a statement; [25459]
(2) if he will list those community health councils whose chief officer will financially (a) gain and (b) lose from his Department's proposed regrading procedure of community health council chief officers; and if he will make a statement. [25458]
§ Mr. HoramThe Department has not proposed a formal regrading procedure for community health council chief officers. The national health service executive has recently completed some exploratory work into how a common national framework for chief officer gradings might be created. Regional offices of the NHS executive may choose to use that work as a basis for any regrading of chief officer posts taking into account any other local factors that they consider appropriate. A letter setting this out was sent to regional offices on 14 February and copies will be placed in the Library.
Written representations about the letter have been received from the Trent Regional Association of Community Health Councils, the Society of Community Health Council Staff, and Sheffield Community Health Council. The Association for Community Health Councils for England and Wales also made representations about the letter at a meeting with me on 26 March 1996.