§ Mrs. Chalkerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish the membership of the Dental Rate Study Group, and the dates of appointment of the members and the duration of such appointments in the Official Report.
§ Dr. OwenApart from the chairman, membership of the Dental Rates Study Group is not by appointment. The study group consists of representatives of the health departments and the dental profession in equal numbers under an independent chairman. The health departments are represented by seven civil servants who are directly concerned in their everyday duties with the general dental services. The dental profession's representatives are nominated by the General Dental Services Committee of the British Dental Association and comprise five general dental practitioners, a consultant statistician and an officer of the British Dental Association. There is no fixed duration for membership and the representatives change from time to time.
The present chairman, an accountant unconnected with the dental profession or the health departments, was appointed in 1975 by the Secretaries of State for Social Services, for Scotland and for Wales.