§ Mr. Patrick Jenkinasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will revise NHS reorganisation circular HRC(73)11 which dealt with joint staff consultative committees so as to discourage the practice whereby representatives of some TUC-affiliated trade unions are refusing to sit on JSCCs with unaffiliated unions and professional bodies but instead insist on there being a separate JSCC for TUC-affiliated bodies.
§ Mr. MeacherNo. The circular referred to was intended to have only transitional significance during the period of National Health Service reorganisation and its aftermath. A new procedural agreement on joint staff consultation is 855W currently being negotiated by the General Whitley Council, the Staff Side of which includes representatives of various organisations, some of which are affiliated to the TUC and some of which are not. I have no doubt that, in the course of these negotiations, due regard will be paid to the importance of ensuring that the Staff Side of a Joint Staff Consultative Committee will adequately represent the interests of all participating staff in the National Health Service.