§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many (a) maintenance and (b) administrative and clerical staff are employed by the National Health Service in England: and what are the comparable figures for 1974, 1976, 1980, 1981 and 1982.
§ Mr. John PattenThe information requested is given in the following table. During the period immediately following the 1974 reorganisation it proved extremely difficult to obtain comprehensive and up-to-date information about numbers and types of staff in post in the NHS. The figures for 1974 presented exceptional difficulties, coming at a time before the staff were settled into their new responsibilities, and the accuracy of these figures is open to question.
NHS Staff (whole-time equivalents) as at 30 September; England 1974 1976 1980 1981 1982 Maintenance 17,600 19,700 20,600 21,000 21,000 Administrative and Clerical* 82,800 98,500 105,400 108,800 108,800 * Exluding Ambulance Officers and Control Assistants. Source:
DHSS census of non-medical manpower. Figures for 1974–80 are published in "Health and Personal Social Services Statistics" 1982, which is in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much money was lost in each year since 1979 in the National Health Service in England through pilfering; and what percentage of total expenditure these figures represent.
§ Mr. John PattenLosses due specifically to pilferage are not identifiable centrally. Recorded losses due to theft, fraud, arson and so on during the last three years for which figures are available are as follows:
1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 £ £ £ Cash 42,474 72,986 62,448 Stores, etc 1,017,016 833,478 774,241 Total 1,059,490 906,464 836,689 Percentage Percentage Percentage Proportion of total NHS expenditure 0.014 0.010 0.008 These figures are derived from the accounts submitted to the Department by all NHS authorities in England except the Dental Estimates Board and the Prescription Pricing Authority; and published in the NHS summarised accounts.