§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time taken to process work permits for appointments of junior doctors to health authorities and as a percentage of the overall average for all work permits; how many junior doctor applicants were appointed to jobs in(a) the Yorkshire and Humberside health region and (b) nationally in the last year for which figures are available; how many are currently before his Department; and when the initial application was made for each one.
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerThe available information relates to post-graduate doctors and dentists undergoing further medical training, for which a work permit is not required, and to qualified doctors and dentists who are in employment, for which a work permit is required. The average time taken in 1994 to grant extensions of leave to remain in these categories and to all trainees or persons in work permit employment is given in the table. The other information requested is not available.
Average time between application and the grant of leave to remain, 1994 Category of leave to remain 1Number of days Post-graduate medical trainees 29 All trainees 33 Doctors and dentists in employment 49 All employment cases 50 1 Excludes the time which some cases spent, during the first half of 1994, in Lunar house before being passed to the casework section and may thus understate slightly.