§ Mr. Eadieasked the Secretary of State for De fence what plans he has for contracting out dental work for the Royal Navy; and how this will affect Scotland.
§ Mr. LeeAs part of the continuing search for better value for money in the defence services, a review of dental ancilliary support for all three services was undertaken in 1983. Thereafter a trial was conducted from 1 April 1984 to 31 March 1985 to assess the feasibility of contracting out dental technician support to commercial dental laboratories as an alternative to the work being undertaken by dental technicians within the services. The results are currently being collated and we expect to announce a decision later this year.