§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review his Department's objections to making the Ambulance Service (Emergency) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal available to all ambulance personnel who served with the service from its national inception, and if he will make a statement.[15342]
§ Mr. BoatengNo. There is a long-standing precedent that civilian medals are not awarded retrospectively.
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the ambulance trusts which(a) have introduced and (b) are considering introducing a priority dispatch system for dealing with emergency 999 calls; and if he will make a statement.[15976]
§ Mr. BoatengNine ambulance services have introduced priority dispatch systems: Berkshire, Derbyshire, Essex and West Midlands from April 1997 and Cleveland, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Northumbria and Warwickshire from October 1997. Others plan to do so shortly.