§ Mr. Patrick Jenkinasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate he has made of the cost of introducing a 35-hour week for nurses in place of the current 38-hour week.
§ Mr. EnnalsThe current Whitley Council agreement for hospital nurses and midwives in NHS hospitals provides for a 40-hour week, exclusive of meal breaks. On the assumption that a reduced working week of 35 hours for all NHS clinical nursing grades must involve the recruitment of a corresponding number of additional staff, the annual increased cost in Great Britain would be of the order of £118 millions. This figure includes salaries and employers contributions for superannuation and national insurance but does not take into account the incidental costs of employing a large number of extra staff.