§ 41. Mr. Mikardoasked the Minister of Health if he will now make a statement upon the reports of the committees which, under the chairmanship of Mr. Zachary Cope, considered the supply, demand, training and qualification of almoners, chiropodists, dieticians, medical laboratory technicians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, radiographers and speech therapists in the National Health Service.
§ Mr. MarquandYes, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I have now been able to study the reports, which were published on 13th April, and we should like to pay tribute to the thoroughness and value of the investigation made by Mr. Cope and the members of the committees.
The recommendations on registration made in the majority reports, which would require legislation, will now be taken by us as the basis of discussions with the appropriate organisations. Meanwhile, pending the establishment of official registration machinery, we propose to apply the recommended qualifications to new applicants for posts in the National Health Service.