§ Mr. Ieuan Wyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements exist in England to allow ambulance personnel employed by district health authorities or NHS trusts to retire at 55 years.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe national health service pension scheme for England and Wales provides for retirement below the age of 60 on grounds of ill health, organisational change, redundancy and in the interests of the efficiency of the service. The employer meets the additional costs involved in cases other than ill health, and resources have been made available in 1993–94 for the ambulance service in England to cover the costs of a limited programme of early retirement.