§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North, 11 February, Official Report, column 419, regarding the total number of nurses employed by the National Health Service in Northern Ireland, if he will give further details of the factors which prevent him from making comparisons between years on a constant price basis.
§ Mr. John PattenAs I explained in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, North, on 11 February, staging of some pay settlements makes comparisons on a constant price basis impossible from the information held centrally by the Department. Compiling such an analysis from data held by the health and social services boards could only be done at disproportionate cost.—[Vol. 17, c. 419.]