§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the reasons for the issue of the draft health circular in November 1977, which stated that no additional resources were likely to be available in the foreseeable future for general health and safety purposes in the National Health Service; what schemes will be affected if these guide lines are adhered to; and if he will now make the necessary additional resources available so that health and safety receives a higher priority in the National Health Service.
§ Mr. MoyleThe draft circular to which my hon. Friend refers has been sent, for consultation, to the Staff Side of the General Whitley Council for the Health Services (Great Britain). The words quoted do not imply that health authorities should not fulfil their obligations under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. On the contrary, the draft circular makes it clear that those obligations should be met. The words to which my hon. Friend refers were not intended to refer to any specific local schemes but simply to indicate that, in view of the overall pressures on public expenditure, the consequences of the Act for the general management of the522W National Health Service would have to be met out of funds already allocated to health authorities.
The Health and Safety Commission is at present considering the results of a pilot study on the implications of the Act for the NHS. My officials will in due course be reviewing with the Health and Safety Executive any findings from that study which may have major capital spending implications for the Health Service as a whole.