§ Mrs. Faithasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has reached a decision on the issue of the protection of professional title discussed in the consultation document on the closure of the professions supplementary to medicine and the speech therapy profession; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergHealth Ministers have now considered the responses to the consultation document. While many of the bodies consulted were in favour of affording some form of restriction of practice within the professions concerned, others were opposed either to the principle of closure or to the specific proposals for achieving it. Many hon. Members wrote on this subject. Among the professions concerned there was no clear concensus nor common ground. Accordingly, we have decided that, in the light of these varied reactions, we should not, within the lifetime of this Parliament, put forward proposals for amending legislation to restrict practice within the professions supplementary to medicine and the speech therapy profession. The Government are, however, anxious to make progress on this issue, and Health Department officials will therefore be inviting the Council for the Professions Supplementary to Medicine and the professional bodies representing registered and unregistered practitioners to join further discussions on the issues involved to see if an acceptable way forward can be found.