§ Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what control he seeks to exercise over the scale of charges made by medical employment agencies for temporary or locum staff engaged by hospital authorities in England and Wales; and what recent representations he has received from the National Association of Health Authorities on this matter.
§ Mr. NewtonThe National Association of Health Authorities has communicated, and we have carefully noted, a resolution passed at its annual general meeting on 17 to 19 June 1987 calling for the Government to press ahead with efforts to reform the career structure of hospital doctors and to take steps to reduce the cost to906W health authorities of employing locum doctors through agencies. I announced measures to reform the hospital medical staffing structure on 27 October at column 258. There are no controls on medical locum charges by agencies, but a number of health authorities are taking or considering steps to reduce their costs in this respect, and we shall carefully monitor their progress.