A government agency has backtracked after advising doctors that deaneries could be classed as employment agencies.

The Employment Agency Standards inspectorate told the British Medical Association two weeks ago that "it would seem" England's 15 postgraduate deaneries were covered by the Employment Agencies Act 1973. This prompted fears that deaneries would be forced to sever ties with strategic health authorities.

The BMA welcomed the advice, seeing it as a "decision" that junior doctors had the right to demand better information from deaneries about training posts.

It announced it had reported the deaneries to the inspectorate for breaching their legal duties during last year's recruitment debacle.

But the inspectorate, part of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, has now told the BMA in a letter the association's statements were "misleading". The letter, from agency head John Thorpe, states: "The EAS has not taken any decision on the issue of whether or not deaneries are employment agencies."

It is still considering the position of deaneries under employment agency legislation, he said.

The BMA has removed its original press release from its website.

It has also amended the wording of a members-only section of the site that covers frequently asked questions, saying deaneries "appear very likely" to be classified as employment agencies.

A spokesman said: "We're not backing down from what we were saying; we have clarified our position after further communication.

"From our point of view, the implications for junior doctors are still the same."

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