§ Lorna FitzsimonsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets he has set health care trusts for the eradication of temporary contracts; and if he will make a statement. [88392]
§ Mr. DenhamNational Health Service managers need the flexibility to offer temporary or short-term contracts. We want to stop the systematic use of such contracts in the National Health Service, and the National Health Service Executive has made it clear that short-term (fixed) contracts should be offered only where a post is genuinely time limited. The general presumption is that permanent contracts should be the norm.