§ 6. Mr. Evelyn Kingasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many staff, other than doctors and nurses, were employed in the Winchester region and the Dorset area at 1st January 1975 and 1st January 1978, respectively.
§ Mr. DeakinsComplete figures are available only for 30th September 1975 and for 30th September 1976, when the whole-time equivalents of staff in post for Wessex Region were 17,818.1 and 18,283.3 respectively; and for the Dorset area they were 3,566.1 and 3,665.2 respectively. I am circulating details in the Official Report.
§ Mr. KingAlthough they are not, perhaps, figures for identical dates, does the 1205 Minister accept that the number of hospital beds provided has actually declined and is still declining? If that is to be so and other medical services are no better than they were, should there not be corresponding reductions in administrative staff? Will the Minister watch this matter?
§ Mr. DeakinsFirst, on the question of figures, the number of administrative and clerical staff in this one area, in the Wes-sex Region, rose by 11.9 on a figure of roughly 5,000, and in Dorset it rose by only 4.9 on a figure of 1,000, so I would have thought that the record was fairly good in that area.
On the more general question of administrative staff, my right hon. Friend has taken determined steps to reduce management costs from the level obtaining when we came to office. We shall reduce them by 1980 by 5 per cent., and we are well on target towards that.
§ Mr. David PriceIs the Minister aware that for many years the Wessex Region has done badly out of all Governments, on both capital account and current account, that it is not a matter of arguing between one district and another within the region, and that, due to the establishment of a medical school in Southampton—which we welcome—this has led to many other districts getting even less than is available?
§ Mr. DeakinsThe question of resources is not directly related to this, but the hon. Gentleman will know that under the Resource Allocation Working Party procedure, there is a redistribution from the regions which are above the national average to those which are below the national average. So far, Wessex has benefited under those provisions.
§ Following are the details:
| Whole-time equivalent at 30th September 1975 | ||
| Wessex Regional Health Authority | Dorset Area Health Authority | |
| Administrative and Clerical* | 5,094.4 | 1,010.0 |
| Professional and Technical | 2,495.2 | 513.0 |
| Ancillary | 8,409.3 | 1,732.1 |
| Works | 266.4 | 25.0 |
| Maintenance | 877.7 | 143.0 |
| Ambulancemen/women | 675.1 | 143.0 |
| Totals | 17,818.1 | 3,566.1 |
| Whole-time equivalent at 30th September 1976 | ||
| Wessex Regional Health Authority | Dorset Area Health Authority | |
| Administrative and Clerical* | 5,106.3 | 1,014.9 |
| Professional and Technical | 2,800.9 | 611.5 |
| Ancillary | 8,526.0 | 1,735.8 |
| Works | 291.5 | 27.0 |
| Maintenance | 890.0 | 136.0 |
| Ambulancemen/women | 668.6 | 140.0 |
| Totals | 18,283.3 | 3,665.2 |
| * Includes ambulance officers and control assistants. |