§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets have been set since 1997 for the recruitment of therapist consultants; when they were revised; and what progress has been made in meeting those targets. [158518]
§ Mr. HuttonThe NHS Plan, published in July 2000, said that by 2004 a first generation of therapist consultant will haze started work. A reference to this commitment was made in 'Meeting the Challenge', published in November 2000, which also said that by 2004 the first therapist consultants would have started work. `HR in the NHS Plan', published in July 2002, referred to an expectation that 250 new allied health professions consultants would be appointed by 2004. The latest non-medical workforce census will be published shortly.