§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GP vacancies there were at the latest available date. [46727]
§ Mr. HuttonThe 98 (out of 100) health authorities in England and Wales who responded to the Department's 2001 GP vacancy survey reported 2,464 vacancies as current at some time during the 12-month period from 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001. These vacancies will reflect both staff turnover and the creation of new posts.
77 per cent. of the GP vacancies filled between April 2000 and March 2001 were filled in six months or less, and there were an average of 6.9 applications per vacancy.
Further details are available in the Department of Health publication "General Practitioner Recruitment, Retention and Vacancy Survey 2001 England and Wales". It is available as www.doh.gov.uk/stats/gprrvsurvey2001.htm or in the Library.