§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proposals are being considered for the transfer of responsibility for any colleges of nursing and midwifery to the Secretary of State for Education and Science;
(2) what proposals are being considered for centralising colleges of nursing and midwifery on a regional basis;
(3) if he will make it his policy to publish proposals for the protection of employment for teaching staff before any proposals are made to alter departmental responsibility for colleges of nursing and midwifery.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThere are no plans for transferring responsibility for colleges of nursing and 357W midwifery from this Department to the Department of Education and Science, or for centralising colleges of nursing and midwifery on a regional basis. The English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting has, however, encouraged the amalgamation of schools of nursing and midwifery to produce larger institutions with a wider range of resources. Schools have also been encouraged to develop links with further education and higher education institutions and in a few instances there has been full integration with such an institution. In such cases the implications for the staff of the school would be for local management to resolve.