§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the length of the average working week for consultants in the National Health Service for each year since 1974.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe nature of a consultant's responsibilities are such that they cannot be discharged simply by working a particular number of hours. Consultants' contracts are therefore open-ended. No regular records of hours worked are maintained centrally. In a special survey by the Office of Manpower Economics in 1977, whole-time consultants reported working a total of 50.8 hours a week on average, including travelling time between hospitals.