asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action his Department is taking to implement the report of the inter-faculty committee of the Royal College of Surgeons on training in dental anaesthesia.

The principal recommendation of the report from the inter-faculty committee of the Royal College of Surgeons on "Postgraduate Education and Training in Dental Anaesthesia, Analgesia and Sedation" is for the establishment of additional senior house officer training posts in dental anaesthesia. I am pleased to announce that we will be making funds available for the initial creation of a number of such posts. We shall be discussing the number and location of the posts with the Royal College of Surgeons and subsequently with regional health authorities.