§ Mr. Nellistasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the total number of positions, previously nominated or elected locally, to which his Department now makes appointments, and the year in which each change took place; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Fowler[pursuant to his reply, 14 May 1984, c. 75]: Central records held since April 1982 do not suggest my Department has made any appointments to positions previously nominated or elected locally. Indeed, responsibility for appointments of members of national insurance local tribunals and supplementary benefit appeal tribunals, which were combined from last month to form social security appeal tribunals, passed at that time from this Department to the new tribunals' independent President. The Health and Social Security Bill currently before Parliament proposes that chairmen and members of family practitioner committees should in future be appointed by the Secretary of State.
Since 1979, the number of non-departmental public bodies for which I am responsible and to which I make appointments has reduced from 125 to 77.