§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many(a) agency staff, (b) positions unfilled for (i) one month and (ii) three months and (c) staff in children in care settings there were in each quarter of each of the last three years. [61368]
§ Jacqui SmithPursuant to my reply on 17 June 2002, shown in theOfficial Report, column 148W: I regret that my reply was incorrect. It should have read:
We do not collect information on the numbers of agency staff who work in child care settings. Information about the number of child care positions unfilled is not collected on a regular basis. Ad-hoc surveys have been undertaken in the past which have determined the vacancy rates in child care posts in social services departments or in the private sector. The last survey undertaken in this area was for community homes for children looked after run by local authorities in England and Wales and it was undertaken in 1999. This survey stated that in England the overall full-time and part-time vacancy rates were both 10.3 per cent.
However, local authority social services departments in England complete an annual return giving information about the staff they employ as at 30 September. The data from this return gives the numbers of whole time equivalent staff employed in child and family services as follows:
1999 39,375 2000 39,745 2001 39,195 Notes:
The actual numbers of staff employed by local councils are greater than the above figures as some of these staff only work part-time. The above figures do not take into account those central and strategic staff and certain other categories of staff who provide more generic services across a range of council responsibilities.