asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many complaints from the public have been considered by the Cleveland Family Practitioner Committee in each year since it was established; and what was the average length of time it took to process such complaints.
The numbers of complaints formally considered under the service committee procedure by the Cleveland Family Practitioner Committee in each period of 12 months since 1st April 1974, when the committee was established, are two in 1974–75, four in 1975–76 and three in 1976–77. The average time it took to process these complaints from the date of receipt to the date the Family Practitioner Committee came to a decision on the complaint following an investigation by the service committee was four months and 26 days.