§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will detail the proposed pay and conditions of service of the sub-consultant grade proposed in his Department's document "Hospital Medical Staffing—Achieving a Balance"; whether such doctors will be able to undertake private practice; and if he will make a statement;
825W(2) whether future appointments to consultant posts will only take place from the ranks of sub-consultants as referred to in his Department's publication "Hospital Medical Staffing—Achieving a Balance".
§ Mr. NewtonI refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 4 December on the subject of "Achieving a Balance". Details of the conditions of service of the proposed intermediate service grade are yet to be negotiated. Pay will be determined by the Government in due course, in the light of the recommendations of the Doctors and Dentists Review Body. It is envisaged that the vast majority of consultant appointments would, as at present, be from doctors who had undertaken higher professional training in the senior registrar grade.