§ Mr. Banksasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set out the current fees payable for (a) a first and (b) subsequent applications, for a licence to operate an agency for the supply of nurses, the fee; payable in each of the previous five years and the percentage increases or decreases year-on-year in real and constant terms.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergThe current fees payable from 1 December 1981 for the first and subsequent applications 293W for a licence to operate an agency for the supply of nurses are £122 and £80 respectively. Prior to 1 December 1981 the fees payable were £13 and £6.50 effective from 1 November 1978; the previous revision (£4.20 and £2.10) had been effective from 1 April 1968. The recent large percentage increases result both from the infrequency of the reviews of these fees, and the need to bring them broadly in line with other employment agencies by putting them on a cost basis related to the administrative cost of approval of these licences. The local authority associations and representatives of nurses agencies were consulted on this and raised no objection to the principle of the fee covering the full cost to local authorities of administering licences.
In view of the fact that the basis of calculating the fees has changed it would not seem useful to provide percentage increases year on year in real and constant terms.